Submarine deal shows Britain is in decline after Brexit, says China

CHINA said Britain was in “inevitable decline after Brexit” following remarks by Rishi Sunak that labelled Beijing a major threat.

Mr Sunak’s remarks came as a new nuclear submarine deal was agreed with the US and Australia but China warned that all three nations are heading down the wrong path after they announced the deal, dubbed Aukus.

“The three countries, for the sake of their own geopolitical interests, completely disregard the concerns of the international communities and are walking further and further down the path of error and danger,” said Wang Wenbin of China’s foreign ministry.

It comes after the UK revealed its 2023 Integrated Review, which outlines national security and foreign policy, and addressed China’s threat to Taiwan for the first time. Mr Sunak said China now poses “an epoch-defining challenge” to international order. China hit back on Tuesday morning, with state media reporting the UK is only taking a tougher stance to “maintain its overseas influence…[and] to cater to the strategic goals of the US”.

Following US foreign policy has “caused the inevitable decline of the country’s global influence after Brexit”, said one quote carried by the Communist Party mouthpiece The Global Times.

Chinese state media had already threatened that the UK’S “provocative moves” would hurt its relationship with Beijing, especially by pushing the “so-called ‘China threat theory’”. It also issued threats to Australia, saying Canberra was “planting a time bomb” and that it would soon bear the brunt of an “expensive mistake” by aligning with the US.

China’s relations with the West have fallen to new lows as diplomatic rows continue to widen over trade, espionage, election interference, and security concerns. Many nations have sought to devise new policy approaches in response to the rise of China.

The Aukus deal, named after the three countries involved, will supply Australia with its first generation of nuclear submarines, using a British design. Mr Sunak unveiled the agreement in a three-way summit in California on Monday alongside US president Joe Biden and Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese.

By the 2030s, Australia will buy at least three – and potentially up to five – of these submarines.

As part of the deal, US nuclear-powered attack submarines will also rotate through Perth as early as 2027.

‘The three countries, for the sake of their own interests, are walking down the path of danger’