In recent years, the United Kingdom has begun signing trade and security agreements with India, Japan, Australia, the countries in the Asia-Pacific region, and other Western democratic countries. The “Global Britain strategy,” frequently mentioned by British politicians and published by the London government in March 2021, has once again revived hopes for the resurgence of the former “empire on which the sun never sets.” The UK is striving to carve its own path with its partners in the Asia-Pacific to prove itself as a global power independent of the United States (US). However, while doing so, London is simultaneously supporting the US in the process of encircling China.
In this context, London is leaning towards signing bilateral free trade agreements and establishing security-defense pacts with regional states. In this regard, the formation of AUKUS reflects the UK’s ambition to establish a London-centered hegemony in the Asia-Pacific. The term “London-centered” is used here because successive British governments have often shown efforts to differentiate themselves from the US in terms of grand strategy or to assert superiority over it. For example, the UK may seek to expand this circle by forming new bilateral economic-military alliances with India and Japan, thereby to some extent sidelining the US. The UK’s Asia-Pacific outreach is interpreted as a return to its global imperial ambitions. In this sense, AUKUS is part of the hegemonic pursuits of both the US and the UK in the region.
Despite being part of AUKUS, the UK is trying to maintain its relations with China. In this context, London plans to cooperate with China in areas such as international peace and security, climate change, the Covid-19 pandemic, sustainable development, and other economic fields.[i] The US, on the other hand, wants the UK to turn its focus from Europe to the Asia-Pacific and apply more pressure on China. In this regard, the Washington administration is urging the G-7 countries, especially the UK, to support the “Build Back Better World” (B3W) initiative, which serves as an alternative to China’s economic projects. The G-7 countries, including the UK, support this plan. However, London aims to use the project as a soft power tool aligned with its own interests. In this sense, the biggest challenge the UK faces is its inability to develop an economic-development project in the Asia-Pacific that could serve as an alternative to both the US and China.
Unlike the US, the UK avoids openly criticizing or confronting China. Indeed, we are witnessing polarization and a new “Cold War” process between the US and China today. However, in the background of this struggle, another “Cold War” is taking place between Russia and the UK in Europe. Unlike the Eurasianist powers in Europe (such as France and Germany), the UK adopts a more hostile stance toward Russia. The leading actors of the Western world, the US and the UK, are also in competition with each other, and the UK does not want to blindly follow the US’s interests in the Asia-Pacific. In this regard, London sets a different agenda from Washington in its relations with Beijing.
Setting Russia aside, the UK’s relationship with China is actually more pragmatic, with an atmosphere of optimism based on mutual interests. This stems from the UK’s long-standing interest in China’s Belt and Road Initiative and its focus on economic investments in China. Even the AUKUS agreement has not strained the relationship between the two countries. Although the UK often criticizes China, it does not take a direct confrontational stance against Beijing. In short, the UK’s relationship with China is too mature to be easily disrupted. In response, China also tries to maintain a positive relationship with the UK. Even after the UK’s involvement in the AUKUS agreement, China directed most of its anger towards the US and Australia, carefully avoiding any serious warnings against the UK.
It can be said that, unlike the US, the UK prefers a measured and controlled crisis in its China strategy. The biggest factor leading to tensions between the UK and China is the polarization in international politics. Indeed, the global context shapes the relationships between states. This division initially occurred between the UK and Continental Europe. With the decision to leave the European Union through Brexit, the UK moved towards a more independent foreign policy, and later, by alienating Russia and China, began pursuing the ideal of Global Britain. Declaring China as the “other” and targeting it accordingly creates a basis for legitimizing the UK’s presence in the Asia-Pacific region.
Despite this “controlled crisis” strategy, the UK and China are essentially rival states in competition with one another. This is because the UK also has its own agenda in the Asia-Pacific, and these interests pose a threat to China. From this perspective, it is possible to say that the UK’s Asia-Pacific strategy presents a threat not only to China but also to Russia and the US. Ultimately, the London government is striving to build Global Britain in an era of power struggles and competition centered around Eurasia and the Asia-Pacific.
[i] “China emphasises importance in relations with the UK”, ECNS, https://www.ecns.cn/news/politics/2024-03-22/detail-ihcytyps2805815.shtml, (Erişim Tarihi: 23.03.2024).
