The European Values Center for Security Policy (EVC), in collaboration with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF), organized a closed-door simulation in Berlin in December 2025 examining the implications of simultaneous security escalation in the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic theaters. Bringing together EU and NATO actors alongside key Indo-Pacific democracies, the exercise explored how democratic partners might respond to escalating Chinese pressure against Taiwan and simultaneous Russian military coercion in Europe. The simulation examined how economic dependencies, critical infrastructure vulnerabilities, cyber operations, and political fragmentation could be exploited to pressure democratic governments below the threshold of conventional conflict.
This after-action report summarizes the key policy lessons from the simulation, highlighting challenges related to cross-theater coordination, economic interdependence, and European preparedness to respond to Chinese coercion. Based on these findings, the report offers recommendations for strengthening dual-theater contingency planning, critical raw material and energy resilience, the coordinated use of economic instruments, and allied preparedness for simultaneous escalation in Europe and the Indo-Pacific.