Indian Council of World Affairs

Abstract: Sweden’s Policy Direction is the latest addition to the European policy papers and the first from the Nordic region, for augmenting cooperation with the Indo-Pacific. It is also significantly, in line with the recent shift in Sweden’s defence and security policy from neutrality to a more practical approach. 

Sweden has officially announced its Indo-Pacific policy paper titled ‘Defence policy direction for cooperation with countries in the Indo-Pacific region’ on 30 September 2024. The Swedish Ministry of Defence’ press release mentioned that “the Government adopted the direction on 4 July 2024 and it was publicly launched during a seminar at the Mediterranean Museum in Stockholm on 30 September 2024, by Defence Minister Pal Jonson. With this announcement, Sweden has become latest European entrant to the Indo-Pacific discourse after the Netherlands, France and Germany, all of whom have their own strategies on the Indo-Pacific. It is also the first country in the Nordic region to have announced a policy paper on the Indo-Pacific, a region geographically faraway for Sweden and for Europe. Prior to announcing its own strategy, Sweden endorsed EU’s strategy for Indo-Pacific as a member of the group.  For Sweden, the announcement is also another mark of its significant departure from its traditional defence positions after it recently joined NATO, in March 2024, as the 32^nd member of the alliance, abandoning its long standing approach of neutrality as the cornerstone of its foreign and security policy. While announcing the policy direction, Minister Jonson wrote on X that “through enhanced cooperation, Sweden and Swedish actors can strengthen the defence capabilities and security at home, while also contributing to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region”.[1]

Sweden and the Indo-Pacific 

Sweden is the largest Nordic country in terms of landmass, population and GDP.  As a trading nation, with a coastline of more than 3,000 km on the Baltic Sea, it is also an important maritime country in the region.[2] Stockholm, therefore, announcing its Indo-Pacific strategy marks an important development. 

Neutrality and non-alignment have defined Sweden’s modern identity; however that is no longer the case now, as Sweden is trying to build closer transatlantic relations. Sweden officially became a part of the NATO, two years after it submitted its application to join the Alliance, in March 2024. Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Tobias Billström, speaking at the Selwyn College, Cambridge, 16 April 2024, said Sweden’s NATO accession is the culmination of a long farewell to the policy of neutrality and non-alignment”. For Sweden, “becoming a NATO member is a paradigm shift in Swedish foreign and security policy, but it is also the natural and final step of a journey.”[3]

Along with this shift, there is also another shift that is taking shape in Europe and Sweden, which is that there is more mention of the Indo-Pacific, as an important region with which, European countries are looking forward to engage deeply in coming years. As Foreign Minister Billström said, Sweden’s “broad geographical commitment extends to NATO’s engagement with global partners – not least in the Indo-Pacific region. The Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions are increasingly closely linked in security terms. Sweden therefore welcomes the deepening of NATO cooperation with partners such as Japan, Australia, South Korea and New Zealand”.[4] 

Geopolitical necessities are resulting in European policy makers shaping and reshaping their relationships in Asia.  So far, Sweden’s main focus in the region has been to manage its relationship with China, however, Sweden now recognises that it is currently navigating a time of great upheaval and will be negatively affected by conflict in the Indo-Pacific region.[5] With the recently announced strategy paper, Sweden has begun to work towards shaping its approach towards the Indo-Pacific though it’s engagement in the region would still largely be as a member of EU and now, the NATO. Both EU and NATO have begun to take cognisance of the significance of the Indo-Pacific and the need for a larger European role in the region.

Stockholm supported the development of the EU’s strategy on the Indo-Pacific. The EU’s Strategy for the Indo-Pacific 2021 is an acknowledgement that the strategic and economic interests of Europe are intrinsically linked to the Indo-Pacific. Similarly, NATO has also recognised the significance of the region in the light of current geopolitical situation. At the NATO Summit in July 2024 in Washington, one of the key issues of discussion was, NATO’s global partnerships including with the Indo-Pacific region. It was reiterated that the NATO and its Indo-Pacific partners, along with EU, will discuss about the “increasing connectivity between Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific security, including the increasingly concerning military and economic relationship between Russia and the DPRK, and the China’s support for Russia’s defense industrial base”.[6]

During its Presidency of the Council of the EU in 2023, Sweden hosted the second EU Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum in Stockholm in May 2023. The main aim of the EU-Indo-Pacific Forum is to ‘explore opportunities for further cooperation in key areas between two of the most dynamic economic areas in the world’. During the second forum in 2023, discussion on facing jointly the evolving security landscape in the Indo-Pacific was the main item on the agenda.[7] In the same year Sweden appointed its first Indo-Pacific Envoy, who will coordinate the Swedish contribution to the implementation of the EU’s strategy in the Indo-Pacific.[8] Swedish Foreign Affairs Minister Tobias Billström, also participated in the third EU-Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum in Brussels in 2024, where he said that “the Indo-Pacific region is becoming increasingly important for Sweden and the EU. Our regions need to intensify the political dialogue on our common challenges and opportunities, particularly with regard to free trade, the green transition and geopolitical tensions.” [9]

Swedish Defence Policy Direction for Cooperation with Countries in Indo-Pacific: Major Takeaways

The Swedish policy direction has been a work-in-progress for some time, and it’s a logical corollary of Sweden redefining its approach by joining the NATO. 

The Swedish strategy recognises that the “security in the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions is becoming increasingly interlinked.”[10] It defines the Indo-Pacific as the region from “the east coast of Africa via the Indian Ocean and the archipelagos of Southeast Asia to the Pacific Island Countries”,[11] which has become critically important from the defence and military perspective.  

The document highlights certain regional development that characterises the current geopolitical churning in the Indo-Pacific region. The policy direction mentions that region is marked by intense “strategic rivalry between China and the US; it also mentions China’s increasing authoritarianism and its cooperation with Russia, the US’ resource prioritisation between Europe and the Indo-Pacific region and the situation in Ukraine.”[12] All these impact the defence and security of the Euro-Atlantic region and Sweden as well. It is therefore, ‘increasingly significant for Sweden to forge closer defence ties with the partners in the Indo-Pacific region’. 

It also briefly touches upon the non-state actors challenging the rules based order and the UN norms in the region. 

The Strategy highlights three focus areas where Sweden is looking to further its cooperation in the Indo-Pacific; these are defence relations, military presence, and cooperation on defence material, innovation and technology. 

Given the current geopolitical backdrop, Sweden feels that it is important to enhance defence cooperation in the region in both bilateral and multilateral realms, so as to ensure readiness “to jointly face challenges, maintain stability, defend the rules-based world order and secure trade flows.”[13]  Sweden has already announced that the country’s “defence spending will exceed two per cent of GDP this year”.[14]

At the same time, by enhancing such ties, Sweden is looking to “gain secure access to cutting-edge technology, raw materials and capital from its Indo-Pacific partners, to improve Sweden’s defence capabilities, to build defence industry synergies with partner countries, and also to reduce vulnerabilities in supply chains”. 

The strategy mentions about the maritime security situation in the region and Sweden’s willingness to ‘better understand the operative environment and challenges to maritime security in the region’. It mentions that the country will look forward to opportunities to participate in exercises and capacity building initiatives with other countries in the region. It also highlights that Sweden already participates in EU’s anti-piracy operations through EUNAVFOR ‘Operation Atlanta’. In coming years, Sweden plans to further increase its presence and preapardenss and, at the same time, also participate in regional initiatives and dialogues with regional partners. 

Sweden has an experienced Navy with regional power protection capabilities and offshore coastal defence capacities,[15] and it must explore opportunities for engagement with important players in the region to ensure a free, open, inclusive, and rules-based Indo-Pacific. 

The Strategy mentions that Sweden is looking to cooperate through both, the EU and the NATO to pursue closer defence cooperation with regional partners. 

It recognises the role of ASEAN “as a key cooperation format” for Sweden and says that Sweden has good relations with most of the countries in the Indo-Pacific. 

It specifically mentions about strengthening ties with Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand (which are NATO’s Indo-Pacific partners, the IP-4), and it also mentions about cooperation with Singapore. 

Sweden’s Strategy mentions China in the context of “dynamics between China and the US and China’s increasing authoritarianism and cooperation with Russia.” 

Overall, the Strategy is broadly in line with the US’ Indo-Pacific approach. Before Sweden announced the Strategy, a US-Sweden Consultation on Indo Pacific, was held in August 2024, co-chaired by US’ Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and Swedish State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Jan Knutsson. During the Consultations, the two sides discussed their joint priorities in the region, to advance a free and open Indo-Pacific, focusing on the South China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and islands of the both Indian and Pacific Oceans, and also raised concern about recent trends in China-Russia ties and DPRK and Russia’s military cooperation.[16]  It is also noteworthy to mention here that in December 2023, the US and Sweden had signed a Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA), “to expand close security partnership, enhance cooperation in multilateral security operations between the two countries and strengthen transatlantic security together.”[17]  

While the EU’s strategy 2021, clearly mentions, India as an important partner in the Indo-Pacific and the Indian Ocean, as a gateway for Europe in the Indo-Pacific, the Swedish strategy, while touches upon the Indian Ocean, does not mention India. Sweden and India have more than 75 years of close and cordial bilateral relations which must be capitalised by Stockholm, if it wants to be seen as an important player in the Indo-Pacific region. Some of the areas that can be explored for cooperation between the two countries include Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA), HADR, sharing of information training and capacity-building, marine scientific and technological research and overall contributing towards rules based maritime order in the region, based on international law, the UNCLOS in particular.  Sweden can also send its naval officers to the Indian Navy’ IFC-IOR in Gurugram, like France and Italy have done. In 2023, a 21-member EU’s delegation also visited the fusion centre, which aims at facilitating a reliable MDA environment in the Indian Ocean region.[18]

Conclusion 

Europe, although geographically not a part of the Indo-Pacific region, but the two regions have more trade exchanges between them, than any other regions of the world. There has been a significant change in Europe’s and European countries’ approach towards the region, with the EU  announcing its strategy in 2021, endorsed by member states, and some of the individual countries also having their strategy documents focusing on enhancing engagement with the region. The latest addition to this has been Sweden’s Policy Direction, which is a comprehensive document that outlines how Sweden plans to upgrade its military and security engagement with the region in the coming years. 

Sweden is undergoing a significant shift in its foreign and defence policy, moving from neutrality to a more pragmatic approach, given the geopolitical realities of the current time. The recently announced strategy is a defence policy direction, which would require the resources and commitment of the Swedish government for the long term. While it is an important announcement for enhancing defence cooperation and presence in the region, at the same time, Sweden, being an export-oriented country, should also look towards further intensifying its trade and investment relations with partners in the Indo-Pacific, as the region is not only the geopolitical hotbed at present but also an economically dynamic region contributing to global prosperity.

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*Dr. Pragya Pandey is a Research Fellow with ICWA.
Disclaimer: The views expressed are personal.

Endnotes

[1] Twitter, https://x.com/PlJonson/status/1840664744262279418

[2] India Sweden Relations Sambandh, https://www.indembassysweden.gov.in/page/india-sweden-relations/

[3] Why Sweden joined NATO - a paradigm shift in Sweden’s foreign and security policy, Published 17 April 2024, https://www.government.se/speeches/2024/04/why-sweden-joined-nato---a-paradigm-shift-in-swedens-foreign-and-security-policy/

[4] Ibid.

[5] Indo-Pacific region increasingly important in a turbulent world, Published 30 September 2024, https://www.government.se/press-releases/2024/09/indo-pacific-region-increasingly-important-in-a-turbulent-world/#:~:text=These%20regional%20developments%20are%20increasingly,which%20Mr%20Jonson%20participated%20in.

[6] Fact Sheet: The 2024 NATO Summit in Washington, July 10, 2024, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/07/10/fact-sheet-the-2024-nato-summit-in-washington/#:~:text=Key%20Summit%20Outcomes%20include%3A,and%20Sweden%20have%20joined%20NATO.

[7] https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/eu-indo-pacific-forum-stockholm-2023_en

[8] Axel Nordenstam, Sweden’s EU Presidency and the Indo-Pacific: A Letter from Stockholm, 6 February 2023, https://www.9dashline.com/article/swedens-eu-presidency-and-the-indo-pacific-a-letter-from-stockholm

[9] Minister for Foreign Affairs Tobias Billström takes part in EU Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum and ASEAN-EU Ministerial Meeting, Published 01 February 2024, https://www.government.se/press-releases/2024/02/minister-for-foreign-affairs-tobias-billstrom-takes-part-in-eu-indo-pacific-ministerial-forum-and-asean-eu-ministerial-meeting/

[10] Indo-Pacific region increasingly important in a turbulent world, Published 30 September 2024, https://www.government.se/press-releases/2024/09/indo-pacific-region-increasingly-important-in-a-turbulent-world/

[11] Defence policy direction for cooperation with countries in the Indo-Pacific region, Ministry of Defence, Sweden, https://www.government.se/contentassets/9a46faff4d014b43bbe3d480b82610ca/defence-policy-direction-for-cooperation-with-countries-in-the-indo-pacific-region.pdf

[12] Ibid.

[13] I.bid

[14] I.bid. no. 3

[15] Sebastian Bruns, “The Swedish Navy in NATO: Opportunities and Challenges”, January 11, 2023, https://cimsec.org/the-swedish-navy-in-nato-opportunities-and-challenges/

[16] United States-Sweden Consultation on the Indo-Pacific, Media Note, Office of the Spokesperson, August 6, 2024, https://www.state.gov/united-states-sweden-consultation-on-the-indo-pacific/

[17] U.S. Signs Defense Cooperation Agreement with Sweden, December5, 2023, https://www.state.gov/u-s-signs-defense-cooperation-agreement-with-sweden/#:~:text=On%20December%205%2C%20the%20United,shared%20goals%2C%20the%20better.%E2%80%9D

[18] Twitter, https://twitter.com/IFC_IOR/status/1704758247843065873