‘Global Britain in a Competitive Age’: UK’s new security, defence and foreign policy

Values and national interests

[The Review] outlines three fundamental national interests that bind together the citizens of the UK:

• sovereignty
• security
• prosperity

– alongside our values of democracy and a commitment to

• universal human rights
• the rule of law
• freedom of speech and faith, and
• equality.

A vision for Global Britain

This includes:

• an emphasis on openness as a source of prosperity
• a more robust position on security and resilience
• a renewed commitment to the UK as a force for good in the world
• an increased determination to seek multilateral solutions to challenges like climate change

[The Review] also stresses the importance of deepening our relationships with allies and partners around the world, as well as moving more swiftly and with greater agility.

Four overarching objectives

1. Sustaining strategic advantage through science and technology, incorporating it as an integral element of national security and international policy to firmly establish the UK as a global S&T and responsible cyber power. This will be essential in gaining economic, political and security advantages.
2. Shaping the open international order of the future, working with partners to reinvigorate the international institutions, laws and norms that enable open societies and economies such as the UK to flourish. This will help our citizens and others around the world realise the full benefits of democracy, free trade and international cooperation – not least in the future frontiers of cyberspace and space.
3. Strengthening security and defence at home and overseas, working with allies and partners to help us to maximise the benefits of openness and protect our people, in the physical world and online, against a range of growing threats. These include state threats, radicalisation and terrorism, serious and organised crime, and weapons proliferation.
4. Building resilience at home and overseas, improving our ability to anticipate, prevent, prepare for and respond to risks ranging from extreme weather to cyber-attacks. This will also involve tackling risks at source – in particular climate change and biodiversity loss.

The Times view on the integrated review of security and defence: Global Britain. The document presented an ambitious but realistic assessment of the country’s place in the world. But difficult trade-offs lie ahead. (The Times, 17 March 2021)

Boris Johnson Finally Tells Us What “Global Britain” Means. The U.K.’s foreign and security policy review is well crafted and ambitious, but can a middling power afford it? Funding a grand strategy is where big planning often comes apart.  (Bloomberg, 17 March 2021)

Boris Johnson’s vision for post-Brexit ‘Global Britain’ includes more nuclear weapons. … Johnson’s government surprised many by declaring it would also increase its arsenal of nuclear warheads, not only to deter traditional threats but also to confront biological, chemical and perhaps even cyber assaults…The new goal appears to mark a profound shift away from Britain’s long commitment to nonproliferation. (The Washington Post, 17 March 2021)

The UK’s Integrated Review predicts at least one major successful terrorist attack by 2030. [A]s policy papers go, this one is of the not-so-boring kind. [It] outlines a vision for a leaner and meaner Britain by 2030—one that is more resilient to threats, more innovative, and more confident in defending its values at home and abroad. It also warns Brits about the threats they will likely face in the next decade, from regular infectious disease outbreaks to more extreme weather events tied to climate change, and at least one successful terrorist attack. (Quartz, 16 March 2021)

The Guardian view on defence and foreign policy: an old-fashioned look at the future. A reconsideration of Britain’s place in the world is necessary. But this paper fails to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Behind the rhetoric of the review is a country that has failed to match its words and ambitions to its actions. The review has rightly asked difficult questions. But the new challenges cannot be met by turning back to nukes and aircraft carriers. (The Guardian, 16 March 2021)

UK to lift nuclear stockpile cap; looks to Asia post-Brexit. The new strategy document envisions the U.K. “tilting” toward the Indo-Pacific region and becoming a bigger player there. The document also outlined plans to overhaul the U.K.’s defense policies, most notably paving the way for increasing the amount of nuclear warheads to 260. That reverses existing plans to reduce the stockpile to 180 by the middle of the decade, and a longstanding policy of gradual nuclear disarmament. (AP, 16 March 2021)

Integrated review is a missed opportunity on Russia and China. After a lengthy delay, the much-anticipated strategy for global Britain finally arrived this week. We needed a plan that rose to the unprecedented challenge of our times… Instead we got a document which exposed the chasm between the government’s stated ambitions and its actions. (The Times, 17 March 2021)

Johnson Pins U.K. Future on U.S. Ties, as European Bonds Loosen. 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. “In all our endeavours, the United States will be our greatest ally and a uniquely close partner in defense, intelligence and security,” Mr. Johnson said. (New York Times, 16 March 2021)

5 ways forward for Global Britain. Turning [the Review’s] ambitions into effective actions will be a huge challenge requiring difficult choices, unflagging energy and relentless determination. But the direction set by the Integrated Review is certainly a good start. (Politico, 17 March 2021)

UK Integrated Review affirms ‘tilt’ to Asia-Pacific. The United Kingdom has outlined a new ‘tilt’ towards the Asia-Pacific [which] will include engagement with existing regional defence, security and economic frameworks such as the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). (Janes, 17 March 2021)

UK trade and security review: pivoting to the east will draw Britain into tensions between China and US. The pivot east appears to be an attempt to not only foster new trading relationships but also demonstrate the UK’s relevance to the US as it moves its security focus towards China and the Asia-Pacific region.
Developing trade deals with China won’t be easy if your closest ally wants your support as it works to contain Chinese influence. How does the UK square the circle of maintaining good relations with the United States and China? The Conversation, 17 March 2021)

3 Indo-Pacific Takeaways From the UK ‘Integrated Review’. The document is rich in ideas – though comes across a little muddled at places. Optimistic about multipolarity and opportunity for middle powers, quixotic on the question of China, and no mention of the US in the all-important Indo-Pacific tilt. (The Diplomat, 17 March 2021)

Boris Johnson’s vision for post-Brexit ‘Global Britain’ includes more nuclear weapons. … Johnson’s government surprised many by declaring it would also increase its arsenal of nuclear warheads, not only to deter traditional threats but also to confront biological, chemical and perhaps even cyber assaults…The new goal appears to mark a profound shift away from Britain’s long commitment to nonproliferation. (The Washington Post, 17 March 2021)

UK seeks more influence in Indo-Pacific as ‘moderating impact’ on China.
[The Review] sets out a planned increase to Britain’s nuclear arsenal to weigh against evolving global security threats, and underlines the importance of strong ties with the United States while naming Russia as the top regional threat.
Britain, the world’s sixth-largest economy, is dwarfed economically and militarily by China, but believes that via soft power and strategic alliances it can help persuade Beijing to play by the rules of a new, more dynamic international system. (Reuters, 17 March 2021)

‘Global Britain’ to put more attention on China and Indo-Pacific. London reveals it is walking a fine line between its economic needs and its security fears, says Beijing academic. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said that China’s development meant opportunities – not threats or challenges – and London should focus more on bilateral cooperation in a mutually beneficial manner. (South China Morning Post, 17 March 2021)

Like Brexit, Boris Johnson’s vision for ‘global Britain’ is an idea not a policy. In reality, the Indo-Pacific region of which so much is being made does not even exist as such. [It] is little more than a speculative sweep of the prime minister’s hand across a map of the world hanging on a Foreign Office wall. Britain is not in reality about to become a major power in the Pacific. China is not about to change its ways because Johnson has committed the UK’s expensive new aircraft carrier fleet to the South China Sea, pretending he is engaged in 21st-century gunboat diplomacy.

Russia warns UK nuclear arsenal plan harms global security. The Kremlin has said the UK’s decision to increase its nuclear arsenal represents a serious blow to arms control. Moscow also said it would take Britain’s move into account when working on its own military planning. (DW, 17 March 2021)