EU Envoy Flags Concern With Beijing-Moscow Axis, Pushes Defence Pact with Australia
Udumbara
China’s military build-up is not just a regional concern, the EU’s top envoy in Australia has cautioned, citing Europe’s deepening worries about Beijing’s cooperation with Moscow.
Speaking at the National Press Club in Canberra on June 11, European Union Ambassador Gabriele Visentin said the continent was worried the alignment between China and Russia would threaten global stability.
“We have seen maybe some worrying signs of military scaling up of China,” Visentin said. “There is a clear link between the Chinese and the Russian visions of what the new international rules-based order should be.”
His comments come a day after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese avoided directly labelling China as a security threat during a press conference, instead urging a “mature” and “diplomatic” approach to regional relationships.
Brussels and Canberra in Advanced Defence Talks
A key point of Visentin’s address was that talks on the an Australia-EU defence partnership had progressed faster than publicly acknowledged.
While Albanese struck a cautious tone after meeting European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen in Rome last month, Visentin confirmed that Defence Minister Richard Marles and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas held advanced talks at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.
Formal negotiations are now underway in Brussels.
Asked if he was optimistic about a potential agreement, Visentin lifted his glass and quipped, “This glass is half full.”
He clarified that the deal would not resemble NATO-style mutual defence commitments, but would instead focus on cooperating in areas like cyber, maritime security, crisis response, and procurement.
Visentin said there was a shared “security anxiety” about the Indo-Pacific.
“Forty per cent of global trade to the EU comes from the Indo-Pacific,” he said. “Any disruption in the region would directly impact European prosperity.”
Although he did not outline how the EU might respond to future regional escalations, Visentin made it clear that Europe has a “vital interest” in stability.
Europe Rearms with $1.4 Trillion Plan
Outlining the EU’s major defence posture shift, Visentin announced details of the bloc’s new Rearm Europe Readiness 2030 plan—an €800 billion (AU$1.4 trillion) investment to strengthen European security and industrial capability.The program centres on three pillars: sustaining support for Ukraine, addressing Europe’s defence capability gaps, and boosting the continent’s capacity for wartime production.
“In times of war, you need a defence industry close to the front line,” Visentin said. New funding will support key technologies including missiles, drones, cyber defence, electronic warfare, and infrastructure resilience.
“Europe now knows that we must be ready for deterrence,” he added, stressing the continent’s shift from post-war peacebuilding to hard-nosed preparedness.
Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Albanese has resisted pressure from the United States to lift the country’s defence spending to 3 percent of GDP through the 2030s, insisting that such decisions must be made on Australia’s terms.
He warned against adopting arbitrary spending targets, saying they lead to a “cul-de-sac.”
“I’ve made it very clear—we will support the capability that Australia needs,” Albanese said.
When asked for his views on the matter, Visentin avoided commenting on domestic defence decisions, but warned that developments in the Indo-Pacific were now inseparable from Europe’s situation.
Backing Ukraine, EU Hits Russian Oil and Banks
Visentin devoted a significant portion of his address to reiterating the EU’s support for Ukraine.He highlighted the EU’s 18th sanctions package, unveiled overnight, which targets Russian oil and banking.
The new measures lower the G7 price cap on Russian oil from $60 to $45 a barrel, blacklists 77 ships in Russia’s “shadow fleet,” and further restricts financial transactions tied to Moscow’s war economy.
Climate Crisis a Top Threat
Visentin warned that climate change posed the most disruptive long-term threat to global stability, with Pacific and Indian Ocean island nations among the most exposed and vulnerable.EU Calls for Unity Against Growing Trade Barriers
On trade, Visentin expressed concern over growing global protectionism and urged renewed momentum on the long-stalled EU-Australia free trade agreement, which collapsed in October 2023 over agricultural market access.“Nothing has changed in terms of content. The differences are still there,” he said. “What has changed is the willingness and readiness to try to strike a deal.”
He said the prospect of a second Trump presidency had added urgency to securing new economic alliances.
“An FTA would allow the EU and Australia to team up and defend the principles of free trade,” Visentin said, while acknowledging that “sticky issues” remain.
Visentin also highlighted the EU’s “de-risking” strategy—reducing economic vulnerabilities while expanding ties with like-minded partners such as Australia.
“Tariffs are like taxes. They hurt consumers and businesses alike,” he said. “They affect Wall Street as well as Main Street. So the right answer is more free trade.”
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