Monday, 30 Sep 2024

Johnson Pins U.K. Future on U.S. Ties, as European Bonds Loosen

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s blueprint for Britain’s economic, security and diplomatic future is a tighter embrace of Washington, with policies aligning London with President Biden.


By Mark Landler

LONDON — Having cast off from the European Union, Britain wants to bind itself closer to the United States in a perilous world, according to a long-awaited blueprint for its post-Brexit foreign policy, released on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson presented the document — which grew out of a lengthy review of security, defense, development and foreign policies — as an argument for how Britain will stay relevant globally. One way, he said, is to help the Biden administration face down challenges from Russia and China.

“In all our endeavors, the United States will be our greatest ally and a uniquely close partner in defense, intelligence and security,” Mr. Johnson said in Parliament. “We will stand up for our values as well as for our interests.”

The prime minister and his allies have long argued that Brexit would liberate Britain to act as an agile maritime power on the world stage — a concept they called “Global Britain,” in language more suited to marketing than diplomacy. This 100-page report was an effort to put some meat on the concept.

But it was notable less for highlighting the opportunities that await Britain than in stressing the need to prepare for a world of threats and foes. Cyberwarfare, nuclear deterrence, and pressure on China, Russia and other human-rights abusers — all will be unavoidable elements of Britain’s future role, Mr. Johnson said.

Among its specific commitments: a $32 billion increase in military spending that includes raising the cap on Britain’s nuclear arsenal from 180 warheads to 260, and a plan to deploy its new aircraft carrier, the Queen Elizabeth, to Asia, where it will reinforce the United States Navy in sending a deterrent message to China.

But the report also implicitly acknowledged the limitations Britain faces after Brexit. It says little about cooperation on security with the European Union, which remains its largest trading partner and the giant in its neighborhood. Since Britain and the bloc cemented their split with a trade deal in January, political and diplomatic ties have frayed, and there have been disruptions to trade.

Relations with China have also deteriorated since Mr. Johnson restricted the access of a Chinese telecommunications giant, Huawei, to Britain’s 5G network, and China imposed a draconian security law on Hong Kong, a former British colony. Britain has offered visas to more than 300,000 Hong Kong residents who hold British overseas passports.

In the report, Britain characterized China as a “systemic competitor,” language not dissimilar to that used by American officials. Russia, it said, remained a threat, three years after it poisoned several people with a deadly nerve agent in Salisbury, England, prompting a diplomatic backlash.

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