Gendering security: rethinking the EU’s Indo-Pacific strategy through women, peace, and security

Key takeaways:

The EU’s Indo-Pacific Strategy has the potential to be a transformative force in one of the world’s most dynamic regions. Officially launched in 2021, the strategy is a roadmap for strengthened engagement with the region driven by a combination of economic, political, and strategic interests. The decision to develop an EU strategy for the Indo-Pacific is motivated by the region’s growing strategic importance for Europe. As a major trader, investor, and development partner in the Indo-Pacific, the EU stands to benefit significantly from regional stability.

The EU’s Indo-Pacific Strategy outlines seven priority areas for action which build on Europe’s long-standing cooperation with Indo-Pacific countries and mirror the EU’s existing engagement in the region. However, although comprehensive and ambitious, the Strategy overlooks a critical dimension—gender—and risks undermining its own objectives and fully realizing the potential of its engagement in the region. Gender is a cross-cutting issue with far-reaching security implications for the Indo-Pacific. Recognizing that gender considerations are not peripheral but fundamentally intertwined with security concerns, the EU must integrate a Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) framework into its Indo-Pacific Strategy. 

Why is there a need to consider WPS in the Indo-Pacific?

The Indo-Pacific Strategy is inherently a security strategy, and gender is inextricably linked to overall security. Gender inequalities exacerbate security challenges, from conflicts and displacement to economic instability. Women’s underrepresentation in decision-making processes hinders effective conflict resolution and peacebuilding. Conversely, empowering women economically and politically reduces the potential for conflict. Women bring unique perspectives and experiences both to the negotiating table and the labor market, contributing to more sustainable societies. Even if the EU sets to work on human security, the Strategy itself falls short of prioritizing WPS which weakens it as a comprehensive security approach. The EU’s 2019-2024 Action Plan on WPS, consistent with several other EU instruments such as the Gender Action Plan (GAP III), demonstrates a genuine readiness to integrate WPS demands into its legal and policy frameworks for external action. Despite these instruments, their implementation is often fragmented among member states and lacks coherence and synergy, particularly in the context of regional strategies like that for the Indo-Pacific. Moving from general gender rhetoric to results-oriented strategies requires a concerted effort to provide the financial, technical, and human resources and expertise needed to fully integrate and operationalize WPS principles, strengthening alignment between the EU’s WPS commitments and its broader foreign policy goals. 

Indo-Pacific nations face a complex web of security threats further exacerbated by gender disparities. Women in the region experience limited political representation and high rates of gender-based violence (GBV). The WPS Index, which assesses women’s inclusion, justice, and security across countries, highlights these inequalities. While developed nations like the United States, Japan, and South Korea demonstrate higher levels of women’s empowerment, many Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia, Cambodia, and the Philippines lag behind. 

It is also timely for the EU to take a gendered approach since the Indo-Pacific has witnessed a growing impetus for advancing the WPS agenda. This momentum stems from renewed calls for a WPS focus at the UN Security Council and other international forums, alongside a growing recognition of its importance within the region itself. Notably, ASEAN has prioritized the development of a Regional Plan of Action on WPS. Such developments signal a significant shift towards a more gender-inclusive approach to peace and security in the Indo-Pacific.

How can the EU integrate WPS into its Indo-Pacific Strategy?

The EU can effectively “gender” its Indo-Pacific Strategy through the concrete integration of the WPS framework. WPS provides a critical lens for understanding how security issues impact women and girls differently, and how their inclusion is essential for achieving sustainable peace and security. By incorporating WPS principles, the strategy can transcend a traditional, male-centric approach to security and address the unique challenges and contributions of women in the region. This means moving beyond mere recognition of gender issues and actively ensuring women’s meaningful participation in all aspects of the strategy, from policy formulation and implementation to conflict prevention and resolution.

Firstly, the EU must ensure that all its initiatives, from development cooperation and trade agreements to security and defense partnerships, are analyzed through a gender lens. This requires collecting and analyzing sex-disaggregated data to understand how different policies and programs impact women and men differently. The EU must also actively support women’s leadership and meaningful participation in all levels of decision-making, from local communities to regional and international forums. This includes supporting women’s political participation, their leadership in civil society organizations, and their inclusion in peace processes and conflict resolution mechanisms. 

Lastly, the EU must address the specific security concerns of women and girls, such as sexual violence, human trafficking, and the disproportionate impact of climate change. This involves supporting initiatives that protect women’s rights, provide equitable access to justice, and empower women to build resilience in the face of security threats. By integrating WPS principles, the EU can not only enhance the effectiveness and legitimacy of its engagement in the region, but it can also contribute to a more peaceful, prosperous, and equitable Indo-Pacific.

Taking notes from partners and member states

The EU could learn from other regional players in developing a WPS agenda. Canada, for instance, has emerged as a strong gender advocate through targeted WPS funding—with 95% of investments under its Peace and Stabilization Operations Program explicitly targeting or integrating WPS activities. Australia and Japan both share best practices when it comes to WPS: Australia hosts joint training programs for gender in military operations and deploys Gender Advisors and focal points in peacekeeping operations (PKO). Japan, on the other hand, deploys instructors for gender training in multilateral PKO exercises and has developed a WPS platform in its Ministry of Defence. Meanwhile, the US is the only country which has institutionalized WPS through both a national WPS legislation and a whole-of-government strategy on WPS. The EU would benefit greatly from learning from the best practices of its allies across the Pacific.

Among EU member states with their own Indo-Pacific strategies, such as France, Germany, and the Netherlands, the explicit inclusion of WPS is notably absent and presents a gap despite broader national efforts on gender equality and human rights. It is worth noting, however, that these countries and several others in the bloc may have implicitly integrated WPS considerations into their individual foreign policies. EU countries have shown a commitment to WPS principles through concrete actions despite varying degrees of implementation: integrating WPS into their external missions, establishing dedicated positions for gender mainstreaming, and developing national action plans on WPS. Apart from the countries mentioned, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, and Belgium have also played important roles in driving the WPS agenda within the bloc. As such, these member states could influence the EU’s overall approach and advocate for greater integration of WPS into its Indo-Pacific Strategy.

Challenges and opportunities

The EU’s Indo-Pacific Strategy marks a crucial turn in its approach to the region. Previously hesitant to embrace the term “Indo-Pacific,” the EU now fully acknowledges the strategic importance of the evolving geopolitical landscape, while avoiding a direct confrontation with major powers like China or the US. The EU has an opportunity to play a crucial role at the country level in contributing to regional stability by helping to maintain a balance of power and offering an alternative to the dominant influence of any single major actor.

However, achieving a unified approach within the EU presents challenges. Member states hold diverse views on the region, with different levels of commitment to gender equality and WPS. Despite these internal differences, the EU’s Indo-Pacific Strategy has served as a catalyst for internal reflection, prompting renewed attention to the region and driving the development of necessary internal structures for more robust engagement.

Interestingly, what makes the EU stand out is that its strategy is essentially an “externalization” of domestic priorities and internal strengths, such as human rights and sustainable development. This allows the bloc to be a relatively stable socio-economic counterweight to the hard security approach that other regional players have taken in a manner consistent with its values and interests. Ultimately, the EU aims to project its values-based approach onto the international stage, seeking to promote a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific that reflects its own principles and priorities. Integrating WPS throughout this engagement style can demonstrate global leadership on gender equality and establish a unique niche for the EU in the region.

Conclusion

Security challenges in the Indo-Pacific are increasingly complex and interconnected, requiring a holistic and inclusive approach addressing the needs and perspectives of all segments of society. The 2021 EU Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific marks significant progress in developing a common understanding of the region’s strategic importance and paving the way for the next steps. Looking beyond traditional security concerns, there is a new momentum towards the recognition and inclusion of WPS in the EU’s Strategy. This  would highlight not only the EU’s commitment to a values-based international order, but also showcase practical avenues for promoting gender equality and empowering women as agents of change. Moving forward, achieving a unified regional approach requires a firm consensus within the EU that will rely on ongoing dialogue and consultations. This requires policy commitments matched with dedicated resources and sustained engagement with regional partners.  By embracing WPS as a core principle of its Indo-Pacific strategy, the EU can position itself as a true partner for peace and sustainable development. As the EU continues to refine its approach to the region’s security challenges, the consistent and meaningful integration of WPS will be crucial for its long-term success. 

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