edited by Natalia Chaban (National Centre for Research on Europe) , Martin Holland (National Centre for Research on Europe) , & Peter Ryan (Asia-Europe Foundation)

Asia and Europe have become increasingly interconnected over the last few decades; this growth in mutual interest is due largely to their economic, political, cultural, and historical ties to one another. Due to the deepening relationship between the two regions, it seems natural to ask, “How is the European Union perceived in Asia?” This question has become very relevant to Asia-Europe relations, especially as the EU is the most significant economic partner for many Asian countries, while at the same time emerging as an increasingly prominent political and security dialogue partner for the region. This second volume offers a new and reliable insight into the perception of the EU in Asia.

In 2006, the Asia-Europe Foundation and National Centre for Research on Europe (University of Canterbury) created the European Studies in Asia (ESiA) Network and initiated the “EU through the Eyes of Asia” survey. This unprecedented comparative study looks at the attitudes and citizens' perceptions of the EU in Asia, and, by 2009, has been undertaken in 12 research sites throughout Asia. In each locality, the project systematically assessed daily representations of the EU in reputable local news media, as well as the EU's imagery among the general public and the EU's vision among the national stakeholders and opinion leaders.

Presenting the findings of this project, this book provides a systematic and detailed empirical insight into EU visibility in the public discourses of three Southeast Asian countries — Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines — the so-called “VIP”. The data and analyses in this work cover 2008 and the first half of 2009, and it compares the findings with those published in Volume I, which examined the perceptions of the EU in China, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and Thailand. EU through the Eyes of Asia is indispensable to policy-makers and opinion leaders in the Asian and European milieux, putting forward vital recommendations to the EU, Asian governments, the media and those managing relations between the two regions.

Volume I was published in 2007 by ASEF and is available in the publication section of the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) website; see http://www.asef.org for more details.

• Asia's Visions of the European Union: Introducing the Volume (M Holland et al.)
• Orientalism Rversed: Images and Perceptions of the EU in the Philippines (A M O Salvador et al.)
• Images and Perceptions of the EU in Vietnam: Media, Elite and Public Opinion Perspectives (Q M Pham et al.)
• EU Images in Indonesia (C P F Lubulima et al.)
• Assuming Superpower Status? Evolving Asian Perceptions of the EU as a Political and Economic Actor (M Holland)
• ‘Soft Power’ and a ‘Human Face’: Images of the EU as a Social, Environmental and Developmental Actor in the Asian Media and Public Discourses (N Chaban)
• ASEM Under the Radar: Media Portrayals of Asia-Europe Meeting in Asia (Y L Suet & N Chaban)
• Policy Recommendations and ESiA (P Ryan)