March 17, 2021
Name a region that most people probably can’t identify on a map, but that European leaders think is the center of gravity of the world.
I’ll wait.
The Indo-Pacific, you said? Shame on you for cheating.
The Indo-Pacific is a new geographic construction that means something different depending on who you’re talking to. Broadly speaking, according to the British think tank Policy Exchange (pdf, p. 15), it “stretches from the Indian sub-continent, up through southeast Asia to China and the northeast Asian countries of Japan and the Koreas,” and borders the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
You’ll have noticed that doesn’t encompass the UK or the EU and yet both are formulating policies that will see them ‘pivot’ towards the region in the coming years, as they adjust their relationships with China and seek new opportunities for trade with the world’s richest emerging markets.
It should seek to strengthen ties with countries including India, Japan and Australia as part of efforts to compete with the growing threat of China, which is the “biggest-state based threat” to the UK’s economic security and a “systemic challenge” to British interests.
Despite these warnings, however, the review also emphasises the need to pursue a positive economic relationship with the Asian superpower, including “deeper trade links and more Chinese investment”, in order to preserve “space for cooperation where our interests align”.
The tone is more consistent when it comes to fellow superpower Russia, which is said to be “the most acute threat to our security”.
UK tilting toward Indo-Pacific to counterweight China ‘immature’ decision
Zhao Yusha Published: Mar 16, 2021 10:15 PM
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks at the House of Commons in London, Britain, on Oct 29, 2019. File photo:Xinhua
The UK issued its biggest review of foreign and defense policy since the end of the Cold War on Tuesday, in which it vowed to cement the country s presence in the Indo-Pacific region and challenge China where necessary. Yet the immature policy decision, originating from London s fantasy of reviving its past glory as a world superpower, not only downgrades itself as a toady of the US, also exposes the UK s over-optimism of its current international status, observers opined.
Why Britain is tilting to the Indo-Pacific region msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.