13.03.2023
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (13th) announced to update his 2023 “Comprehensive Review Report on Foreign Affairs, Defense and Security Policy”, aiming to counter Russia and China. What are the specific measures? What will you invest in?
(Deutsche Welle Chinese Network) British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (Rishi Sunak) announced on the 12th that in order to counteract the geopolitical challenges posed by China and Russia, he will update and adjust the British diplomatic strategy and invest 5 billion pounds in defense to replenish ammunition stocks, It also injected capital into the Australia-UK-U.S. Security Agreement (AUKUS) submarine contract.
The investment is part of an update on the 13th of the UK’s Integrated Review (IR) of this year’s foreign and defense security policy.
In addition, Sunak will gradually increase defense spending to 2.5% of UK GDP. These moves, he said, were all aimed at “ensuring that we will never again be harmed by the actions of hostile forces”.
The UK government said the report was updated toResponse to Russia’s invasion of UkraineChina’s economic coercion and other “emerging threats”, and to deal with the increasingly fierce competition among countries, the updated report will not only focus on the threat posed by Russia to European security, but also focus on the CCP’s military, economic and diplomatic levels. Challenge” will adjust the UK’s China policy.
The plan will also increase the British government’s investment in China’s relevant professional knowledge and capabilities, including Chinese language training, doubling the relevant training funding to the current level, and the British “National Security Academy (College for National Security)” will also launch new courses , in order to strengthen the ability of the British government to deal with China-related security issues.
According to the British “Guardian” report, about 3 billion pounds of new defense investment will be used for the “Australia, Britain and the United States Trilateral Security Agreement (AUKUS)” alliance, and another 2 billion pounds will be used to replace military equipment stocks supplied to Ukraine. The UK will also set up a new national security agency and provide £20m for the BBC World Service to fight disinformation from hostile countries.
“I don’t think reducing our relationship with China is a wise or world-savvy foreign policy, after all China is a country of 150 million people, the world’s second-largest economy and a member of the United Nations,” Sunak said. Members of the Security Council”, but at the same time he also admitted that China is the biggest threat to the “economic security” of the UK. challenge”.
The report pointed out that because Sunak did not explicitly call China a “threat” but a “challenge”, it may cause dissatisfaction among members of the Conservative Party and China hawks against his position.
Sunak welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the UK at Downing Street on February 8.
According to Reuters, some people in the British Conservative Party believe that the 5 billion pounds proposed by Sunak is still not enough to aid Ukraine in fighting Russia and ensure that Britain will not be affected by the Russian-Ukrainian war. Earlier, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace (Ben Wallace) had warned at the end of January that the British army had been “emptied and underfunded”.
The U.K. update to the report comes as Sunak is in the U.S. for meetings with U.S. President Joe Biden and Australian Prime Minister Anthony AlbaneseDetails of AUKUS Alliance Submarine Agreement Discussed，to strengthen anti-China action。
(comprehensive report)
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