UK ‘ready’ to aid developing states
This week, the United Kingdom’s Foreign Secretary James Cleverly gave a speech setting out his long-term vision for the future of Britain’s foreign policy. He celebrated the success of the post1945 international order, which has seen an unprecedented period of peace and prosperity, allowing global economic and social development which has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty.
As a result of this, a greater portion of the world economy — and therefore the world’s power — will be shared by countries across Asia, Africa and Latin America. This shift in the balance of power is a vindication of the world order, of free trade, of innovation and scientific advances, which are all things that Britain has spent generations working for.
It means in the years to come, countries such as Thailand will have a more powerful voice on the world stage, and play a far greater role in shaping the international order. This is a welcome change, and one the UK will embrace as it continues to forge long-term relationships with countries in the Indo-Pacific.
Britain’s well-established commitment to this region will be further strengthened, as demonstrated by closer engagement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and our pledge to join the Trans-Pacific free trade agreement.
The Foreign Secretary recognised that many countries in Asia and elsewhere don’t want to pick sides, and are rightly wary of committing themselves in any direction just because other countries want them to.
He explained that the UK will need to earn their support, investing in relationships based on respect, on solidarity, and on a willingness to listen. We will foster balanced, mutually beneficial relationships, based on shared interests and common principles.
The UK recognises that countries such as Thailand need to focus on securing their own economic development, while balancing their relationships across the world, so that the successes they have enjoyed in the last decades can continue into the future.
The UK will offer investment tailored to their needs — and to UK strengths — spanning trade, development, defence, cyber security, technology, climate change and environmental protection.
The UK will also continue to work to protect the international order that has allowed such successful economic development across the world, tackling poverty and reducing deaths in conflicts. We are living in a momentous period when the pace of change is accelerating with hurricane force, and there are challenges to the principles of that international order, most obviously in the global instability caused by Russia’s unprovoked assault on Ukraine.
The UK’s approach will offer a credible and reliable alternative to that of countries like Russia, who actively and aggressively flout the global order.
Of course, the UK will maintain existing solid relationships with allies, but it is right that we also look to strengthen partnerships with countries such as Thailand that are regionally influential, growing wealthier, and happy to seek their own paths in their own interests.
It is also right that these countries have an amplified voice on the world stage, and can play a more important role in helping to shape the world’s future.