Following an initial plan in April, the EU set out seven areas in which it would increase influence in the Indo-Pacific, in health, security, data, infrastructure, the environment, trade and oceans.
The plan may mean a higher EU diplomatic profile on Indo-Pacific issues, more EU personnel and investment in the region and a security presence such as dispatching ships through the South China Sea (called the East Sea in Vietnam), or putting Europeans on Australian patrols.
"Given the importance of a meaningful European naval presence in the Indo-Pacific, the EU will explore ways to ensure enhanced naval deployments by its member states in the region," the document said.