Britain released a document on Tuesday (March 16) showing its foreign policy priorities after leaving the European Union. Britain wants to expand its influence among democracies in the Indo-Pacific region and weaken China’s influence on international affairs.
The document lays out plans to increase Britain’s nuclear arsenal to weigh in on evolving global security threats and stresses the importance of building a strong relationship with the United States, while naming Russia as the biggest regional threat.
The document, considered the largest review of British foreign and defense policy since the end of the Cold War in 1990, sets out Prime Minister Johnson’s vision of wanting to be at the forefront of reinvigorating a rules-based international order based on cooperation and free trade.
Britain, which leaves the European Union for good at the end of a 1-year transition period at 23:00 on December 31, 2020, is currently adjusting to Life after leaving the EU and the reality of facing alone the growing threat to national security posed by China and Russia.
The British government believes that the Indo-Pacific region is “increasingly becoming the geopolitical center of the world. As part of the new policy, Prime Minister Johnson will travel to India next month, his first major international visit since Britain left the EU. Johnson had planned to visit India in January, but the trip was postponed because of the Epidemic in Britain.
The British government has highlighted plans to send aircraft carriers in the Indo-Pacific region. The Associated Press reported that the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth will be sent to the Indo-Pacific region for its first operational deployment later this year.
The report’s China-related statements are one of the major points of interest. The relationship between the UK and China has always been an important element of the UK’s bilateral relationship. However, the relationship has been severely damaged in recent years by a number of issues, including the Hong Kong issue, heightened criticism of China’s acceptance of government-subsidized industries and security concerns surrounding Chinese investment in the United Kingdom. And Britain’s plan to send the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth to the Indo-Pacific region in the second half of the year is also expected to exacerbate tensions in the UK-China relationship.
In contrast to describing Russia as the biggest regional threat, the British government took a more nuanced approach to China in the report, calling Beijing‘s growing strength and assertiveness the most important geopolitical factor of the decade and pledging to challenge China if necessary to defend Britain’s national security.
Prime Minister Johnson told Parliament earlier that “there is no doubt that China will pose a huge challenge to an open society like ours, but we will also work with China where it is consistent with our values and interests.”
He said, “This report describes how we will strengthen alliances, build capacity, find new ways to find solutions, and relearn the art of competing with countries with opposite values.”
Analysts note that as the world’s sixth-largest economy, Britain is economically and militarily dwarfed by China. However, Britain believes that through soft power and strategic alliances, it can help convince Beijing to abide by the rules of a new, more dynamic international system.
British Foreign Secretary George Raab acknowledged that so far, Britain’s attempts to influence Beijing have been meager. He told Radio Times that a better approach would be to “work with a group of like-minded countries to maximize influence and undermine Chinese influence.”
Britain’s tilt of foreign and defense policy toward the Indo-Pacific region is not isolated. Since President Biden took office in January, the United States has also emphasized the importance of the Indo-Pacific region under Biden and warned against China’s growing assertiveness. In addition, the European Union wants to deepen relations with Indo-Pacific countries.
The report was released after a 1-year review by the British government. The British government had promised that the “comprehensive review” would show that Britain, which completed its exit from the EU at the end of last year, still has international influence and will enter a new era.
The report affirms the importance of the UK’s relationship with the US, saying that “the US will remain our most important bilateral relationship” and that bilateral relations with the US are “vital to key alliances and organizations such as NATO and the Five Eyes Alliance”. The U.S. is the U.K.’s “largest bilateral trading partner and foreign investor.
The U.K. said it will raise the ceiling on its nuclear warhead stockpile from 180 to 260, after previously planning to reduce it. Britain’s adjustment of its nuclear warhead stockpile ceiling is believed to be aimed at Russia. The U.K. views Russia as “the most serious threat to our security” in the Euro-Atlantic region.
“Until relations with the (Russian) government improve, we will actively deter and defend against all threats from Russia,” the report said.
The document will be closely watched as the U.K. deals with the economic and political implications of leaving the EU and the new crown pneumonia outbreak. Stakeholders will be watching to see how the British government will deliver on Johnson’s promises.
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