UK to help France fight extremists in Africa
Britain needs to build a network of alliances of its own, starting with old friends such as France
Britain will send military helicopters to join a French campaign against Islamist extremists in Africa as London and Paris move to deepen crosschannel defence ties, the Prime Minister is expected to announce later this week. RAF Chinooks have been offered to transport French troops in discussions ahead of tomorrow’s Franco-british summit on the military, security, space research and immigration.
THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY is set to be displayed in Britain after Emmanuel Macron, the French president, gave the move his seal of approval, it emerged last night.
The loan of the 230ft-long embroidered artwork, which depicts events of the 11th century leading up to the Norman conquest of England, means it is to leave French shores for the first time in 950 years. Arrangements are in their early stages to transport the cloth from the Bayeux Museum in Normandy to the UK in a move which will be hailed by the Prime Minister as a display of deepening our cross-channel ties with France after the Brexit vote.
The French president is expected to announce the loan at a meeting with Theresa May in Berkshire later this week. It will be just the second time the embroidery has left its Normandy home to be displayed in another museum since Napoleon Bonaparte put it up it in Paris in 1803.
The director of the Bayeux Museum confirmed to The Times that preparations for the loan were under way. It comes as Britain agreed to join a French campaign against Islamic extremists in Africa with London and Paris moving to deepen cross-channel defence ties, the Prime Minister is expected to announce later this week.
RAF Chinooks have been offered to transport French troops during discussions ahead of tomorrow’s Franco-british summit on the military, security, space research and immigration.
Talks at Sandhurst will see Theresa May and Mr Macron agree closer coworking in the fight against militants linked to al-qaeda “at source” in North Africa. Last night, Mr Macron also said he will demand that Mrs May take more responsibility for refugees but he vowed there would be no return of the socalled “jungle” migrant camp in Calais.
Around 4,000 French troops are waging a cross-border counter-terrorism campaign in the southern Sahara with forces deployed to back local governments in Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Chad and Burkina Faso.
Whitehall sources said Britain had offered its transport aircraft to make up for shortfalls in French helicopter numbers. RAF C-17 cargo planes helped transport French armoured vehicles to Mali in 2013 when the French began their campaign against Islamist rebels. Britain and France have stepped up joint exercises and exchange programmes since the Lancaster House agreement of 2010. Ben Barry, senior fellow for land warfare at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said the two were the only European nations to retain “combat cultures” and an appetite to take military action.
The UK decision to provide extra support to France in the Sahel is seen by British strategists as emblematic of France’s desire to create serious “European” joint military capabilities – even if outside the orbit of the EU itself.
With Brexit entering a critical phase, the arrival of President Emmanuel Macron in Britain tomorrow should give Theresa May a golden opportunity to begin work on building the new set of alliances Britain will need for life beyond the EU. Immigration issues are certain to dominate the agenda, as Mr Macron seeks to resolve the disruption caused by the hundreds of illegal migrants who have once again gathered in the Pas-de-calais.
The French president has caused a degree of consternation in some circles with his suggestion that Britain should do more to resolve the seemingly perennial Calais issue by agreeing to take more migrants, as well as contributing more to the costs of cross-border security enshrined in the Le Touquet accords.
Such demands might appear presumptuous to committed Brexiteers, who take umbrage at the prospect of any foreign power telling the British government how to do its job. Yet looked at from a different perspective, there is much I commend in Mr Macron’s uncompromising approach.
Unlike his predecessor, François Hollande, who seemed to revel in the disruption and aggravation the migrants caused British hauliers and holidaymakers, Mr Macron is more pragmatic. He wants strict controls to stem the flow of people into France and better cross-border co-operation between London and Paris.
This seems eminently sensible to me. Mr Macron has drawn bitter criticism from opponents in France, but his policy is more akin to our own reservations about uncontrolled migration, which proved so decisive in the Brexit vote.
So, rather than getting involved in a petty squabble about who pays for what in terms of managing the border, Mrs May should adopt a statesmanlike approach to the issue, one that builds on the close defence and security arrangements that already exist between the two countries, thereby establishing the framework for a new era of Anglo-french co-operation post-brexit.
Such an approach would certainly make sense in the current global climate, where we are witnessing a radical and complex re-alignment of national interests. In Europe, the primary concern is how the continent will look once Brexit has been completed. But further afield, the uncertainty the Trump administration has generated about the existing world order, as well as the emergence of major new powers such as China, has prompted a fundamental restructuring of global alliances.
A case in point is the summit held yesterday in New Delhi between Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, and Narendra Modi, his Indian counterpart, where the two leaders agreed to closer co-operation on issues such as agriculture, science and defence. Israel and India have enjoyed cordial ties for some years, but this deepening relationship must be seen in the context of the threat posed by Islamist-inspired extremism, which is as bad for India as for Israel.
India’s emergence, moreover, as a sophisticated military power – the country launched 31 micro-satellites into orbit earlier this week to improve border surveillance – has had a galvanising effect on Pakistan. It has responded by seeking closer economic ties with China, which would seriously jeopardise Islamabad’s long-standing ties with Washington.
On one level, Pakistan’s dalliance with Beijing can be explained by its unhappiness with Donald Trump’s recent decision to suspend US aid over concerns that it is not doing enough to counter Islamist extremism. On another, it demonstrates the opportunism that lies at the heart of China’s foreign policy, which has seen Beijing extend its influence into areas, such as Africa, hitherto unknown to generations of Chinese diplomats.
Russia is another country that has been quick to take advantage of the new global realignment, with its recent military intervention in Syria providing a graphic example of the Kremlin’s desire to expand its influence. For decades the Middle East was a barren landscape for Moscow. But the vacuum created by Barack Obama’s failure to provide effective leadership has enabled Russia to build a new network of alliances, with countries such as Egypt and Libya now the unlikely recipients of a Russian charm offensive.
These are just a few examples of the changing geopolitical landscape, which Britain, as it contemplates its post-brexit role, ignores at its peril. Sure, politicians of all persuasions look forward to a constructive and mutually beneficial relationship with the EU. But they should also understand that the Trump era is not just redefining how America deals with the rest of the world. It is heralding the dawn of a new world order, one where old certainties are being replaced with new opportunities.
If Britain wants to make a success of Brexit it needs to start building and strengthening a new network of its own. And breathing new life into the entente cordial when Mrs May and Mr Macron meet tomorrow would be a good start.