British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak took office last month on the expectation that it would usher in a phase of new and stable conditions for his party and for the country as a whole. He must prepare a post-Brexit Britain, as war continues on the European continent, for the new geopolitical challenges he faces.
On Monday evening, he delivered his first foreign policy speech, significant for two reasons above all.
First, Sunak did not have a de facto foreign policy profile. Despite having clarified that he is committed to European responsibility and the defense of liberal values, he did so without outlining a coherent and precise vision of his foreign policy.
“The assumption was that it was close to [former Prime Minister Boris] Johnson on foreign policy, lots of support for Ukraine after Russia’s invasion of its nation, support for the US-UK special relationship, caution about China’s influence in the UK,” said Victoria Honeyman, professor British Politics Associate at the University of Leeds, Al Jazeera.
Beyond that, it’s hard to tell. Though, of course, there has been discussion whether Sunak’s ethnicity and the fact that his wife has family and business interests in India could lead to better relations with India.”
Second, unlike his immediate predecessors, Johnson and Liz Truss, who were foreign ministers before becoming prime minister, Sunak has no direct experience outside financial markets in the international geopolitical arena. However, lack of experience could also be an advantage.
“[Being an unknown quantity in terms of foreign policy views] it meant that it would probably be less ideological and more pragmatic. Given his background as Chancellor of the Exchequer and in financial services before entering politics, we can probably also expect him to emphasize economic factors more than security or political factors”, James Strong, Senior Lecturer in British Politics and Foreign Policy at the Queen Mary University of London, he told Al Jazeera.
His speech on British foreign policy and the role it sees Great Britain playing was therefore highly anticipated.
liberal values
Sunak’s speech made it clear that liberal values would play an important role and that he effectively sought to broaden Britain’s influence for the foreseeable future.
“Freedom and openness have always been the most powerful forces for progress,” Sunak said in his keynote address at the Lord Mayor’s annual banquet in London. This, however, Sunak continued, “has never been achieved by standing still.”
Britain must “do more to uphold its values of freedom and openness on the world stage,” Sunak added.
“Robust pragmatism” is the term used by Sunak to describe his foreign policy vision for Britain, which he already displayed during his visit to Kiev and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week.
The visit underscored Britain’s continued commitment to Ukraine despite the change in leadership. After all, while Britain has been at the forefront of the Western response to Russian aggression, questions have been raised about whether Sunak could deliver on his defense spending pledge.
But in his speech, Sunak made it clear that Britain will support Ukraine “for as long as necessary”.
He promised that military aid should at least be maintained for next year and perhaps even increased.
Additionally, Sunak announced that it would provide new support to Ukraine’s air defenses to protect the Ukrainian people and critical infrastructure.
Furthermore, Sunak said the UK must “end global dependence on authoritarian regimes, starting with Russian gas”.
The main question, however, was what Sunak’s position on China would be.
In contrast to the Ukrainian issue, he had given mixed signals in recent weeks about how he intended to shape relations with China going forward.
Britain’s relations with China have deteriorated significantly since former British Prime Minister David Cameron and Chinese President Xi Jinping shared a pint in a pub in 2016.
“Over the past five years, the UK has tended to treat China more warily than before. This was driven by concerns over espionage allegations, the United States’ rapprochement with China, and concerns about investment in infrastructure projects,” Honeyman said.
time sensitive
Setting the course of Anglo-Chinese policy comes at a sensitive time. Anti-COVID lockdown protests in many Chinese cities could make getting close to Beijing difficult, and not even the arrest of a BBC reporter in Shanghai has solved the problem.
Furthermore, the US government has tightened its course against Beijing and has basically banned the import and sale of information and surveillance technologies.
Other countries, including Germany, are making it difficult for Chinese investors to buy key technologies and are inclined to reconsider their relationship with Beijing.
Despite the factors, Sunak stressed his willingness to engage with China on Monday, saying Britain cannot “simply ignore China’s importance in world affairs, to global economic stability or issues such as climate change.”
While acknowledging the “increasingly acute competition” with Beijing, he also warned against the “simplistic” Cold War rhetoric towards China.
However, this pragmatic approach could lead to internal conflicts, Strong noted.
“The internal politics of the ruling Conservative Party make a softer line with China very difficult. The Conservative Party has grown increasingly skeptical of China in recent years, with the formation of the hard-line China Research Group, a deliberate echo of the European Research Group which pushed for a hard Brexit, helping to give forms a inside line much harder. ” said Forte. he said.
Along with China and Russia, Sunak also made clear that building strong ties in Europe will be a priority, noting that under his leadership, Britain will have a keen interest in deepening partnerships in other parts of the world, such as the Indo- Russia quiet region. .
domestic challenges
However, Sunak’s foreign policy plans come at a time when record inflation, high taxes, a slump in public services, a deteriorating health system and the onset of a possible prolonged recession in Britain raise major issues. for many people.
In this sense, it will be necessary to see how far he can advance his vision of foreign policy in the midst of internal challenges.
“Britain’s economic weakness inevitably limits its freedom of action,” Strong said.
However, the announcement of his foreign policy agenda could also benefit the British people amid the current turmoil.
“If you want to boost Britain’s economic interests, research suggests investing in ODA [Official Development Assistance] financing is a good way to do this. Create more stable and prosperous countries to trade with and build relationships with,” Honeyman said.
“Britain is already a member of many international organisations, which is a good way to expand its influence globally. Perhaps the most obvious way to benefit the UK economy would be to reach a better economic deal with the EU and/or sign more international trade deals, which seems unlikely at the moment.”
For Sunak, success on the foreign policy front will be key as his party is still 20 per cent behind Labor and the domestic situation is unlikely to generate a rise in the polls anytime soon.
