LONDON – The British government has outlined plans to increase its stockpile of nuclear weapons as part of a change in defense policy that recognizes that the world order it helped to forge after World War II is collapsing.
After its exit from the European Union last year, Britain seeks to gain its place in a more volatile and fragmented international system, while strengthening its economy through greater global trade.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he requires the UK to become an agile energy broker, with greater influence in the Indo-Pacific region, supported by an increase in domestic investment in science and technology.
“The fortunes of the British people are almost exclusively intertwined with events on the other side of the world,” Johnson told Parliament when presenting a project for Britain’s post-Brexit foreign policy aspirations. “The UK could never turn inward or settle for the tight horizons of regional foreign policy,” he said.
Brexit has long been cited by government officials as a way for Britain to adapt quickly to global challenges without the weight of the EU. The government’s 114-page review shows a bleak picture for the next decade.
The report warns that the decline in globalization, which started after the financial crisis, will continue to exacerbate divisions between nations. The use of new chemical and nuclear weapons will also proliferate, says the review, as challenges to the United States’ supremacy increase. “Defending the status quo is no longer enough,” he concluded.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson left Downing Street before making his statement to the House of Commons on Tuesday.
Photograph:
Tayfun Salci / Zuma Press
Reflecting this perspective, Britain is reinforcing its nuclear threat as a means of deterrence. Britain was on its way to reduce its stock of nuclear warheads to no more than 180 warheads in the mid-2020s.
However, in the face of growing threats, this ceiling will be raised to no more than 260 warheads. The government will no longer provide figures on how many warheads are operational.
The UK currently has a stock of 190 warheads, according to the Federation of American Scientists. Its stock will remain the lowest among the declared nuclear powers, which include neighboring France.
Some analysts questioned the change. After spending years protesting nuclear proliferation, raising that threshold “is a major diplomatic error,” said Nick Witney, former executive chairman of the European Defense Agency. “This provides a bigger case for proliferators around the world.”
After Brexit, a series of trade-offs appears. To pay for a new-looking army, the UK will have to cut back on spending on more conventional armed forces. It will make an attempt to secure deeper relations in the Indo-Pacific region, although officials say it will not turn its back on Europe.
Highlighting this complex balance: Britain will aim to expand economic relations with China while criticizing its human rights record and trying to contain Beijing’s threat to Britain’s national security.
“We have a balance to strike,” said Johnson, adding that now was not the time for a Cold War with China. This year, British aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth is expected to conduct patrols in disputed waters in the South China Sea amid growing tension with Beijing.
Much of the review is shaped by Britain’s experience during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the country’s reliance on extended global supply chains left it vulnerable to border closures.
Meanwhile, its successful vaccine development and implementation has turned into a soft power victory.
HMS Vigilant, one of the submarines that make up the UK’s nuclear deterrence system, in Faslane, Scotland, in April 2019.
Photograph:
James Glossop / Press Pool
Britain’s foreign policy will now be underpinned by a large-scale domestic spending program aimed at supporting British research and development. The UK plans to direct at least £ 6.6 billion, equivalent to $ 9.18 billion, of defense funding over the next four years to areas such as space, targeted energy weapons and advanced high-speed missiles.
“It looks like the UK approach is becoming more French and less liberal,” said Malcolm Chalmers, deputy general manager of the Royal United Services Institute, a defense think tank. “It is to put more focus on our national technology base.” France had already advocated building its domestic defense and technology capabilities.
The way in which this reform will be paid will be detailed next week, when the government defines a series of cuts in the country’s armed forces. Analysts expect the government to cut the number of soldiers, jet fighters and frigates to pay for the rejigger. But Britain’s finances are already overwhelmed after the pandemic, raising questions about how or whether the new strategy will be properly implemented, said Witney.
The analysis says the United States will continue to be the UK’s most important ally, both commercially and militarily. Britain will continue to see Russia as its number one opponent and Britain will try to build diplomatic ties in the Indo-Pacific region.
She signed up to become a partner of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and is looking to join the trans-Pacific free trade agreement. Mr. Johnson is due to visit India soon.
Last year, the UK government announced its biggest increase in military spending since the Cold War in an attempt to secure its position as America’s main military ally in Europe after Brexit. The country will spend an additional £ 24.1 billion over the next four years compared to last year’s budget. This, says the government, reaffirms Britain’s attachment to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Write to Max Colchester at [email protected]
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