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The European Union and ASEAN blue economy VDA paper 2022

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Tomasz Lukaszuk
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Tomasz Lukaszuk
The European Union and ASEAN - fields for cooperation and convergence of interests in the
blue economy
Paper presented at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam 14th Conference on South China Sea,
Da-Nang, 16 - 17 November 2022

The paper aims to analyze the activities of the two most prominent regional organizations
in the blue economy – EU and ASEAN, finding the similarities and differences in the context of
their cooperation opportunities. Both have a maritime character, with the sea area under their
jurisdiction more extensive than the total land area. Half of their population lives less than 50km
from the sea, and the blue economy plays a significant role in their overall development. The EU
introduced integrated maritime policy twelve years ago, intending to make interconnected sea-
based activities more coherent and sustainable development goals oriented. ASEAN countries
started to implement primary elements of common fishery policy, recognizing the significance of
the blue economy in its strategic documents. The experience of the EU could serve as a model for
ASEAN countries, helping them attain several goals in sustainable development. The paper starts
with a theoretical explanation of the blue economy and an analysis of differences in approaches
between ASEAN and the EU. Then, the activities in the blue economy of both regional
organisations will be explored. The final section highlights their existing and possible joint efforts
in the blue economy.

1. Blue economy – definitions, similarities and differences in approaches

Blue economy, as a new term, was coined in the last decade of the 20th century, developed
in the first two decades of the 21st century and has different definitions. According to the World
Bank, the blue economy constitutes the “sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth,
improved livelihoods, and jobs, and ocean ecosystem health.”1 UNEP found the blue economy as
the sustainable ocean economy “recognized as a multifaceted and crosscutting concept that drives
economic growth and innovation while ensuring ocean sustainability and rule-based ocean
governance.”2 According to UNEP oceans are spaces for development where “spatial planning

1
Blue Economy, World Bank Group, www.worldbank.com/oceans, access 15.09.2021
2
Advancing the Sustainable Blue Economy in ASEAN Region, Webinar 30.06.2022, United Nations Environment
Programme, https://www.unep.org/events/webinar/advancing-sustainable-blue-economy-asean-

1
integrates conservation, sustainable use, oil and mineral wealth extraction, bioprospecting,
sustainable energy production, and marine transport.”3 That kind of approach occurred as a
consequence of UNCLOS and shifted maritime countries activities from purely coastal, “brown
water” endeavours, to oceanic, in terms of responsibilities, benefits, economic modelling, and
decision-making processes.4
The European Union sees the blue economy as the set of sectors of the economy covering
fisheries, aquaculture, coastal tourism, maritime transport, port activities and shipbuilding.5
ASEAN defines blue economy as “the sustainable, resilient and inclusive use, governance,
management and conservation of oceans, seas as well as marine and coastal resources and
ecosystems for economic growth across various sectors such as fishery, aquaculture, maritime
transport, renewable energy, tourism, climate change, and research and development while
improving human well-being and social equity.”6 In addition, Southeast Asian nations emphasised
in its 2021 Declaration that the blue economy is “a multifaceted and cross-cutting concept that
involves all three pillars of the ASEAN Community,”7 which means that security issues are
included, especially related to navigation.
EU and ASEAN share many similarities in their concept of the blue economy in line with
UN conventions and sustainable development programs. The differences in approaches of both
regions toward the blue economy related mainly to security issues stemmed from four factors:
1. the size of the maritime domain in Southeast Asia is three times larger than that in
Europe;
2. the significance of the waters of the Eastern Indian Ocean, South China Sea, and West
Pacific Ocean in the context of Sea Lines of Communication is more significant – with

region#:~:text=In%20the%20Declaration%2C%20the%20Blue%20Economy%20is%20defined,and%20ecosystems
%20for%20economic%20growth%20across%20various%20sectors., access 20.10.2022
3
Blue Economy Concept Paper, UNEP, (2012):3, https://www.unep.org/resources/report/blue-economy-concept-
paper, access 20.10.2022
4
Ibidem
5
Frederik Scholaert (Editor), The blue economy. Overview and EU policy framework. In-depth analysis, European
Parliament, Brussels (January 2020) :1,
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/IDAN/2020/646152/EPRS_IDA(2020)646152_EN.pdf, access
30.10.2022
6
ASEAN Leaders’ Declaration on the Blue Economy, Brunei Darussalam ASEAN Summit, October 26, 2021,
https://asean.org/asean-leaders-declaration-on-the-blue-economy/, access 20.10.2022
7
Ibidem

2
 40% of the world trade passing through straits and Exclusive Economic Zones of
ASEAN countries;
3. activities of big-size trawlers owned by extra-regional players, equipped with
sophisticated food processing devices;
4. the number of unsolved territorial disputes over continental shelves in the South China
Sea.
The blue economy is essential for both regions as it directly employs over 5,4 million
people in the EU, accounts for 1.3 % of EU GDP,8 and generates a gross added value of almost
€500 billion a year.9 In the case of ASEAN, there are two biggest archipelagos of the world, and
“more than half of the world’s fishing vessels are in the South China Sea.”10 The Southeast Asia
is responsible for “15 percent of worldwide fish production, 33 percent of seagrass meadows,
territorial waters comprise an area three times the land area. ”11 Like in the majority of ASEAN
members, the blue economy constitutes an essential part of the Vietnamese economy as the marine
sector contributes 47% to GDP and is expected to contribute up to 70% by 2030.12 All the ASEAN
countries made a significant progress in the 21st century in their Maritime Potential Index (MPI)
and the Maritime Economy Index (MEI).13 However, there is still an enormous potential to utilize
it in a sustainable way. The following section discusses how European Union and ASEAN tried to
optimise their potential in the second decade of the 21st century.

8
Frederik Scholaert (Editor), The blue economy. Overview and EU policy framework. In-depth analysis, European
Parliament, Brussels (January 2020):1
9
Blue Economy Development Framework. Growing the Blue Economy to Combat Poverty and Accelerate
Prosperity, https://thedocs.worldbank.org/en/doc/446441473349079068-
0010022016/original/AMCOECCBlueEconomyDevelopmentFramework.pdf
10
Leigh Hartman, The importance of the South China Sea, Bureau of Global Public Affairs, U.S. Department of
State, 11.07.2019, https://share.america.gov/importance-of-south-china-
sea/#:~:text=The%20importance%20of%20the%20South%20China,waters%20for%20their%20food%20and%20liv
elihoods.&text=The%20importance%20of%20the,their%20food%20and%20livelihoods.&text=of%20the%20South
%20China,waters%20for%20their%20food
11
Mark J. Spalding, The Role of ASEAN in Addressing Global Ocean Issues, The Asia Foundation, February 22,
2017, https://asiafoundation.org/2017/02/22/role-asean-addressing-global-ocean-issues/, access 20.10.2022
12
Minh Vu, Blue economy – indispensable path for Vietnam to tap potential, Hanoi Times 5.11.2021,
https://hanoitimes.vn/blue-economy-indispensable-path-for-vietnam-to-tap-potential-319197.html, access
31.10.2022
13
Evers, Hans-Dieter and Azhari Karim, “The Maritime Potential of ASEAN Economies,” Journal of Current
Southeast Asian Affairs, volume 30, no 1, (2011):117-124,
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/186810341103000105, access 31.10.2022

3
 2. The European Union and ASEAN activities in blue economy policy
The EU is the only international organization serving as the contracting party to the
UNCLOS. The European Commission also played an essential role at the Earth Summit in Rio de
Janeiro in 1992, encouraging other countries to conclude binding agreements on measures to
prevent further pollution of oceans, including the Convention on Biological Diversity.14 From the
very beginning of its existence, it dealt with the sustainable use of living resources in the form of
common fisheries policy.15 Member countries agreed in 1983 to establish a new generation of
regulatory instruments under the Common Fisheries Policy - the concept of relative stability and
conservatory management measures based on total allowable catches and quotas.16
The Policy has been reformed several times to adjust it to the dynamics of the global market
and growing challenges to environmental protection. The further enlargement of the EU also
contributed to transformation and adjustments in regulations. More considerable attention was
extended to the social dimensions of fisheries with a focus on changes in the profession of the
coastal population with movement from fishery into the tourism sector as a result of the strategy
of fish stock management at maximum sustainable yield for all managed stocks. The Commission
continued applying of multiannual plans (MAPs) to manage fisheries in different sea basins. The
regionalized approaches were applied to allow EU countries with a management interest to propose
detailed measures in the context of fleet capacity ceilings per country in combination with the
obligation for EU countries to ensure a stable and enduring balance between fishing capacity and
fishing opportunities over time.17
The critical issue in implementing the Policy was that small-scale fisheries represent 80%
of the EU fishing fleet contributing to 48% of employment in EU fisheries. To make the Policy
effective at all levels, especially in the Mediterranean, the small-scale fleet was exempted from
several obligations applied to larger vessels, such as fishing authorizations. In addition, the
European Commission also provides financial support to the sector under the European Maritime,
Fisheries, and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF). Small-scale coastal fishing can be supported with a

14
Convention on Biological Diversity, United Nations, 1992,
https://www.cbd.int/doc/legal/cbd-en.pdf, access 05.10.2022
15
Treaty of Rome (1957, Art. 38-43), European Parliament, https://www.europarl.europa.eu/about-parliament/en/in-
the-past/the-parliament-and-the-treaties/treaty-of-rome
16
T. Lukaszuk, “Normative Powers in Maritime Affairs: India - EU Cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region,” The
Copernicus Journal of International Studies,” No.1 (2020):70
17
Common fisheries policy (CFP), European Commission, https://oceans-and-
fisheries.ec.europa.eu/policy/common-fisheries-policy-cfp_en, access 20.09.2017

4
rate of public aid and exempted from accurately reporting their catches and their position while
fishing. It created limitations in implementing the Policy making some of the steps in the
Mediterranean region counter-productive. At the same time, 70 percent of stocks in the North East
Atlantic, where the fisheries had more prominent and more modern ships at their disposal, became
managed in a sustainable manner.18
The further effort of the EU in introducing the blue economy as a part of the concept of
integrated oceans governance, introduced by the UN 1992 Earth Summit and developed at the
Global Oceans Fora in 2001 and 2005, was the creation of the Integrated Maritime Policy. The
integrated oceans governance was identified in Chapter 17 of Agenda 21 as a holistic approach
towards oceans governance, and the EU applied such an approach in 2007 in the integrated
maritime policy.19
Understanding that the Policy needed not only to be holistic, dealing with all areas of
human activities and environmental context but also transparent and inclusive for all parties, the
Commission made governmental and non-governmental institutions related to the maritime
domain involved in the creation of the document. A one-year consultation period with such a broad
scope of stakeholders helped to prepare also the Action Plan.20 Both documents were designed to
improve the coordination of policies related to interdependent areas of activities in the oceans,
seas, islands, coastal regions, and maritime sectors to foster the sustainable development of all sea-
based activities and coastal regions. Strengthening of seaports and enhancing maritime transport
competitiveness, accompanied by endeavours to maritime safety and security, were among the
priorities. The Plan showed the urgency of developing cross-cutting tools at all layers – from
regional through national up to local. The Integrated Maritime Policy (IMP) was introduced at the
regional level and incorporated into member countries’ domestic laws. Furthermore, based on the
national regulations, every administrative unit was obliged to prepare the executive program for
the IMP at the local level.

18
EU Common Fisheries Policy, Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Federal Republic of Germany,
https://www.bmel.de/EN/topics/fisheries/fisheries-policy/eu-common-fisheries-
policy.html#:~:text=EU%20Common%20Fisheries%20Policy%201%20Sustainable%20management%20of,...%206
%20Fishing%20effort%20and%20technical%20measures%20, access 31.10.2022
19
An Integrated Maritime Policy for the European Union, Communication from the Commission, Public Register of
Documents, COM_COM(2007)0575 / FULL / EN15/10/2007,
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegistreWeb/search/simple.htm?references=COM_COM(2007)0575&languages=E
N&sortAndOrder=DATE_DOCU_DESC, access 20.09.2018
20
Action plan for an integrated maritime policy, European Commission 2007, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=LEGISSUM:l66049, access 20.08.2018

5
 As an institutional part of the IMP, the European Commission changed the name of its
Directorate General for Fisheries (DG FISH) to Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE). DG
Mare continued to conduct stakeholder consultations on “seabed mining, marine biotechnology,
maritime surveillance, seabed mapping and forecasting, tourism and ocean energy, to overcome
the problems with fragmented sectoral policy-making.”21 In order to address the specific needs
and conditions of different sea-basins, the European Commission prepared custom-made strategies
- COM (2008) 763 for the Arctic,22 COM (2009) 248 for the Baltic Sea23 and COM (2009) 466
for the Mediterranean region.24
ASEAN members, like the EU, adopted Ministerial Understanding on Fisheries
Cooperation at an early stage of their integration in 1983, within the ASEAN Committee on Food,
Agriculture, and Forestry (COFAF) established in 1977. ASEAN Ministers of Agriculture and
Food (AMAF) agreed to exchange information and expertise; coordinate action in resources
research activities; undertake appropriate action in the evaluation and management of shared
stocks and migratory species in the ASEAN region; engage for the rational utilization of fisheries;
share and transfer of technology at all levels to improve the socioeconomic status of the fishermen
and fish farmers.25
The current Strategic Plan of Action for ASEAN Cooperation on Fisheries (2016-2020)
focused on enhancing trade and market access, production using sustainable technologies, ensuring
food security and safety, increasing resilience to climate change and natural shocks, assisting small
producers in increasing competitiveness.26 ASEAN became a major producer of fish and other

21
Jan-Stefan Fritz and John Hanus, “The European Integrated Maritime Policy: The next five years,” Marine Policy,
vol.53 (2015) :2
22
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council the European Union and the
Arctic Region, Commission of the European Communities, Brussels, 20.11.2008
COM(2008) 763 final, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2008:0763:FIN:EN:PDF,
access 02.09.2018
23
EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, COM(2009)248 – Communication, EU Monitor, Brussels 10 June 2009,
https://www.eumonitor.eu/9353000/1/j9vvik7m1c3gyxp/vikqhnlmstze, access 02.09.2018
24
Towards an Integrated Maritime Policy for better governance in the Mediterranean, COM(2009)466 –
Communication, EU Monitor, Brussels 11 September 2009,
https://www.eumonitor.eu/9353000/1/j9vvik7m1c3gyxp/vikqhntmolyw, access 02.09.2018
25
ASEAN Ministerial Understanding on Fisheries Cooperation, Singapore, 22 October 1983,
https://www.asean.org/wp-
content/uploads/images/2012/Economic/AMAF/Agreements/ASEAN%20Ministerial%20Understanding%20On%20
Fisheries%20Cooperation.pdf, access 20.10.2022
26
Fisheries Cooperation, ASEAN Secretariat, https://asean.org/our-communities/economic-community/enhanced-
connectivity-and-sectoral-development/asean-food-agriculture-and-forestry/fisheries-cooperation/, access
31.10.2022

6
fisheries products. The 10 ASEAN countries accounted for a quarter of global fish production, and
four of them - Indonesia, Thailand, Viet Nam, and the Philippines are among the world’s top ten
largest fish producers.27
Fishery constitutes a major part of the blue economy activities of ASEAN countries, but
tourism also plays a critical role as the fastest-growing sector in the blue economy.28 Being aware
of the diversity and “the complementary nature of the region’s tourist attractions,”29 and “the
valuable role of tourism in narrowing the development gap among member states,30 they agreed in
2012 “to enhance the development and promotion of ASEAN as a single tourism destination to
establish an integrated network of tourism and travel services.”31 At the same time, there was an
understanding of the interdependence between tourism and harmonizing the objectives of tourism
development with the implementation and observance of environmental protection standards, with
the goal of the adoption of certification programmes for sustainable tourism. The crucial role of
local communities in environmentally sensitive areas was emphasized as well.
In their first joint declaration on the blue economy, announced on the occasion of the 38th
ASEAN Summit on 26 October 2021, the regional leaders also pointed to the significance of joint
actions in such areas of the blue economy as maritime transport and renewable energy. 32 They
decided to task the ASEAN Coordinating Council (ACC) to develop a regional action plan for
cooperation on the blue economy.
ASEAN and the EU are at different stages in implementing sustainable, resilient, inclusive
maritime policy in the blue economy. The following section will discuss how they tried to and
they could cooperate in the blue economy in terms of different conditions and challenges faced by
both organisations.

27
Fisheries. Where to invest, ASEAN, https://investasean.asean.org/index.php/page/view/fisheries, access
31.10.2022
28
Mark J. Spalding, The Role of ASEAN in Addressing Global Ocean Issues, The Asia Foundation, February 22,
2017, https://asiafoundation.org/2017/02/22/role-asean-addressing-global-ocean-issues/, access 20.10.2022
29
ASEAN Tourism Agreement, ASEAN Secretariat, Jakarta May 11 2012, https://asean.org/asean-tourism-
agreement/, access 02.11.2022
30
Ibidem
31
Ibidem
32
ASEAN Leaders’ Declaration on the Blue Economy, Brunei Darussalam ASEAN Summit, October 26, 2021,
https://asean.org/asean-leaders-declaration-on-the-blue-economy/, access 20.10.2022

7
 3. ASEAN – EU Cooperation in Blue Economy
Security serves as a part of the framework of the blue economy cooperation in Southeast
Asia , especially in the South China Sea and Sea Lines of Communication context. Responding to
ASEANs expectations, the EU has elevated its cooperation in maritime security by initiating EU-
ASEAN High-Level Dialogues on Maritime Security in 2013. There was a political will in the
EU to “exploit the convergence of interests with ASEAN and to continue making security related
to economy issues a dynamic vector of bilateral cooperation.”33
Another area where the EU and ASEAN also need to find solutions of mutual benefit, is
food safety, the reduction of environmental impact, and the increase in overall sustainability. In
2017, a new platform, EURASTIP (Europe Asia Science and Technology Innovation Platform),
was launched with the support of EATIP (European Aquaculture Technology and Innovation
Platform) to reinforce cooperation with aquaculture-producing countries – in particular Thailand
and Vietnam. EURASTIP was also tasked to establish business-to-business brokerage events on
standards for aquaculture site planning, animal health, food product safety, and farm governance.34
The efforts to “reduce, re-use and recycle to protect the marine environment and coral
reefs”35 were among the top priorities of EU-ASEAN cooperation. Building resilience against and
mitigating the impact of climate change on the marine and coastal environment36 play a crucial
role in developing the blue economy of archipelagic and littoral states in Southeast Asia.
The EU has supported ASEAN in its policy on IUU fishing by arranging a series of
dialogues to improve existing monitoring, control and surveillance tools, and mitigate IUU fishing
in ASEAN waters. Utilising the Enhanced Regional EU-ASEAN Dialogue Instrument (E-
READI), the EU facilitated the first and second ASEAN dialogue with the EU on the issue of IUU
in 2019.37

33
Blue Book 2016. EU-ASEAN Development Cooperation in 2015 :12-13,
https://www.eeas.europa.eu/sites/default/files/eu-aseanbluebook2016hr.pdf, access 18.10.2022
34
Blue Book 2017. EU-ASEAN Development Cooperation in 2016 : 34,
https://www.eeas.europa.eu/sites/default/files/euidnbluebook2017_0.pdf, access 18.10.2022
35
Blue Book 2021. EU-ASEAN Development Cooperation in 2020 : 25, https://euinasean.eu/wp-
content/uploads/2021/04/Blue-Book-2021.pdf, access 20.10.2022
36
Blue Book 2021. EU-ASEAN Development Cooperation in 2020, op. cit. : 33
37
Blue Book 2021. EU-ASEAN Development Cooperation in 2020, op. cit. : 48

8
 Conclusion
Despite differences in environmental and security conditions, the two most integrated
regional organisations – the EU and ASEAN – experienced the growing convergence of
approaches and interests in the blue economy in the first two decades of the 21st century. The EU
countries could invest in the blue economy in South-East Asia, increasing the existing mechanisms
of development assistance and cooperation. They could transfer and promote environmentally
sound modern technologies in the blue economy to preserve and conserve the ecosystems in
Southeast Asia.38 The joint efforts would contribute to the centrality of ASEAN and the increase
of the role of the EU in the Indo-Pacific Region and build up the economic competitiveness of the
EU and ASEAN in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

38
ASEAN Tourism Agreement, ASEAN Secretariat News, Jakarta May 11 2012, https://asean.org/asean-tourism-
agreement/, access 02.11.2022

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