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June 9, 2023 - 4:00pm
After a grim recent record of Conservative governance, one of the pleasant surprises of Rishi Sunak’s premiership has been Britain’s return to a relatively modest and achievable set of foreign policy and security goals. As Sunak set out in his first major foreign policy speech in November last year, Britain’s new security focus under his leadership would entail “standing up to our competitors, not with grand rhetoric but with robust pragmatism”. The aim of this would be to “foster respectful, mature relationships with our European neighbours on shared issues like energy and illegal migration to strengthen our collective resilience against strategic vulnerabilities”.
The perfect example of what this means in practice came in this week’s reporting by the Times that Britain would shortly announce a cooperation agreement with Belgium to protect energy infrastructure in the North Sea, with the eventual intention “to sign up other countries such as Denmark, Norway, Germany, Holland and France to a ‘North Sea security pact'”.
The proposal follows the announcement last month of a new security agreement with Norway to protect undersea energy and communications infrastructure, and the planned deployment of the new RFA Proteus support ship next month to monitor and deter any malign Russian activity in British and Norwegian waters. While recent reporting in the Washington Post, citing leaked intelligence from European and American defence officials, implicates Ukraine rather than Russia as the culprit for the mysterious destruction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline last year, the risk of Russian sabotage of vital undersea infrastructure — a longstanding Sunak concern — remains a genuine threat.
Alongside Britain’s secret air defence deal with Ireland — a source of some political controversy in Ireland itself, a militarily incapable weak point in Europe’s vital Atlantic flank — the agreement with Belgium highlights both Britain’s utility to Nato as the linchpin of security in the eastern Atlantic, and Sunak’s success at using bilateral agreements to reintegrate the UK within a broader European framework.
All this follows naturally from the 2023 reboot of the UK’s suddenly outdated 2021 Integrated Review. This report dialled down the focus on the Indo-Pacific — a perhaps unrealistic expression of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss’s Global Britain aspirations — to re-emphasise that “as a regional actor, we will seek to lead and galvanise where we have most value to add, giving particular priority to the contribution we can make in northern Europe as a security actor.”
The Integrated Review also stressed Britain’s return to constructive engagement with neighbouring European nations in the wake Brexit, pledging to “seek to extend practical cooperation through bilateral and minilateral formats”. In particular, “with Benelux, France, Germany, Ireland and the Nordic countries through the North Seas Energy Cooperation group,” the last of which Britain re-engaged with in December last year.
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SubscribeI don’t know about the details here, but it’s refreshing to read a positive piece on UK politics for once.
He is a blood thirsty NeoCon vampire pushing to destroy Ukraine as Boris’s mini-me. Try some youtube of Alexander Mercouris on the Disaster of the Proxy War in Ukraine whereby USA and UK destroyed an entire nation and people in their political and corruption games.
At the end of this Excellent analysis of the Ukraine Disaster of an offensive, Mercouris gives a rundown on how this million dead and nation wrecked is basically Boris Johnson’s doing.
It is a MUST WATCH – all of it ideally, the 15 minutes before the Johnson part is great too, but to just hear of Boris, Sunak’s Mega-me, go to minute 1:08. Listen to ”This extraordinary petulant MP…” talk of Alexander’s – you know he would love to really say of the utter EVIL of Boris – and the olympic swimming Pools of blood he has caused to flow – but he has a good say without getting as furious as I would – summing up this demon of a man.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiD20aVoekQ
minute 1:08 for Boris…… who Sunic fallowed as a running dog….
and Sunak – he has dipped his toes very deep in this pool of blood too. Evil War, caused by Evil men – and Sunak is one of them!
Evil, Evil, Evil men, and Biden and his circle are as culpable – warmongers!!!!!!!!! Lovers of Death and Money.
He is a blood thirsty NeoCon vampire pushing to destroy Ukraine as Boris’s mini-me. Try some youtube of Alexander Mercouris on the Disaster of the Proxy War in Ukraine whereby USA and UK destroyed an entire nation and people in their political and corruption games.
At the end of this Excellent analysis of the Ukraine Disaster of an offensive, Mercouris gives a rundown on how this million dead and nation wrecked is basically Boris Johnson’s doing.
It is a MUST WATCH – all of it ideally, the 15 minutes before the Johnson part is great too, but to just hear of Boris, Sunak’s Mega-me, go to minute 1:08. Listen to ”This extraordinary petulant MP…” talk of Alexander’s – you know he would love to really say of the utter EVIL of Boris – and the olympic swimming Pools of blood he has caused to flow – but he has a good say without getting as furious as I would – summing up this demon of a man.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiD20aVoekQ
minute 1:08 for Boris…… who Sunic fallowed as a running dog….
and Sunak – he has dipped his toes very deep in this pool of blood too. Evil War, caused by Evil men – and Sunak is one of them!
Evil, Evil, Evil men, and Biden and his circle are as culpable – warmongers!!!!!!!!! Lovers of Death and Money.
I don’t know about the details here, but it’s refreshing to read a positive piece on UK politics for once.
Better to make a sandwich and succeed, than to make a banquet and fail.
Better to make a sandwich and succeed, than to make a banquet and fail.
I’m no fan of the Tories (I prefer conservatives to be conservative) in general these days, but I respect Sunak. Good to see brains, rationality and hard work in the top job instead of the recent burlesque.
I’m no fan of the Tories (I prefer conservatives to be conservative) in general these days, but I respect Sunak. Good to see brains, rationality and hard work in the top job instead of the recent burlesque.
It’s quaint that Aris thinks Sunak is deciding any of this. The Foreign Office are passively waiting for a PM to give them guidance and instruction? Hmm.
The reality is the elected Ministers get told what the brief is – irrespective of whatever manifesto they were elected on – by the Permanent Secretary. The civil service is either left to continue in peace or it will make trouble for its Minister.
Sunak is particularly weak in allowing his speeches to be entirely written by the servants he is supposed to be leading. He is not even reading aloud his own words. Actor or puppet, but not leader.
It’s quaint that Aris thinks Sunak is deciding any of this. The Foreign Office are passively waiting for a PM to give them guidance and instruction? Hmm.
The reality is the elected Ministers get told what the brief is – irrespective of whatever manifesto they were elected on – by the Permanent Secretary. The civil service is either left to continue in peace or it will make trouble for its Minister.
Sunak is particularly weak in allowing his speeches to be entirely written by the servants he is supposed to be leading. He is not even reading aloud his own words. Actor or puppet, but not leader.
One wonders in which direction Labour might take us in the coming decade. Thankfully a CCP tilt isn’t on the cards since Corbyn left but will a pragmatic foreign policy be followed under Starmer or will we get something else? I notice our relationship with Ireland is closer than ever (another nail in the remainiac coffin). This sort of deal would have been unthinkable even eighten months ago.
Our relationship with Ireland isn’t closer than ever MG but it is much better than a year ago.
Since independence when could we conveivably had a military agreement with them? The prominence of Irish politicians coming out for the Queen’s funeral was particularly moving, again not something I thought I would see.
Since independence when could we conveivably had a military agreement with them? The prominence of Irish politicians coming out for the Queen’s funeral was particularly moving, again not something I thought I would see.
Our relationship with Ireland isn’t closer than ever MG but it is much better than a year ago.
One wonders in which direction Labour might take us in the coming decade. Thankfully a CCP tilt isn’t on the cards since Corbyn left but will a pragmatic foreign policy be followed under Starmer or will we get something else? I notice our relationship with Ireland is closer than ever (another nail in the remainiac coffin). This sort of deal would have been unthinkable even eighten months ago.
“Rishi Sunak deserves praise for his foreign policy”
I didn’t know he had one – Just soundbites for the media.
Do ‘we’ still have a Foreign Policy?
Surely that is decided in the White House.
Do ‘we’ still have a Foreign Policy?
Surely that is decided in the White House.
“Rishi Sunak deserves praise for his foreign policy”
I didn’t know he had one – Just soundbites for the media.
Yep some sensible pragmatism and realism after a few years where we lost our bearings whilst suffering from Brexit fuelled intoxication. We are weaker but Sunak beginning to make the most of that hand and we still have many strengths.
Not sure when the Author wrote the Article though but it does seem to underplay the recent agreement with US won’t have been struck by our Atlantic partner to allow us to sit passively neutral in any coming engagement, hot or cold, with China. AUKUS prevents that being an option too. We’ve chosen our side, been given the prize of warm photo-op in the Oval office and a mutual Declaration, but you can bet our cousins expect us to line up with them when required.
JW – not sure about the rest of us, but I’d say you’re still suffering from “Brexit intoxication” – certainly some Brexit-related derangement. You just can’t let it go, can you ?
JW – not sure about the rest of us, but I’d say you’re still suffering from “Brexit intoxication” – certainly some Brexit-related derangement. You just can’t let it go, can you ?
Yep some sensible pragmatism and realism after a few years where we lost our bearings whilst suffering from Brexit fuelled intoxication. We are weaker but Sunak beginning to make the most of that hand and we still have many strengths.
Not sure when the Author wrote the Article though but it does seem to underplay the recent agreement with US won’t have been struck by our Atlantic partner to allow us to sit passively neutral in any coming engagement, hot or cold, with China. AUKUS prevents that being an option too. We’ve chosen our side, been given the prize of warm photo-op in the Oval office and a mutual Declaration, but you can bet our cousins expect us to line up with them when required.