Britain will increase its stockpile of nuclear weapons in the defense-change process

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Britain needed to become an agile power broker with greater influence in the Indo-Pacific region, backed by increased domestic investment in science and technology.

“The fortunes of the British people are almost unique in the events of the far reaches of the world,” Johnson told Parliament as he presented a plan for Britain’s post-Brexit foreign policy aspirations. “Britain could never return or settle for the narrow horizons of a regional foreign policy,” he said.

Brexit has long been promoted by government officials as a way for Britain to adapt quickly to global challenges not printed by the EU. The 114-page government review presents a bleak picture for the next decade.

The report warns that the withdrawal of globalization, which began after the financial crisis, will continue to exacerbate divisions between nations. The use of new chemical and nuclear weapons will also proliferate, says the review, as challenges to US supremacy increase. “A defense of the status quo is no longer enough,” he concluded.

Reflecting this perspective, the United Kingdom is consolidating its nuclear threat as a deterrent. The UK had been on track to reduce its stockpile of nuclear warheads to no more than 180 warheads by mid-2020.

However, faced with growing threats, this ceiling will be raised to a maximum of 260 warheads. The government will no longer provide figures on how many warheads are operational.

The UK currently has a stockpile of 190 warheads, according to the Federation of American Scientists. Its stock will remain the lowest of the declared nuclear powers, which include neighboring France.

Some analysts have questioned this move. After spending many years against nuclear proliferation, raising this ceiling “is a major diplomatic mistake,” said Nick Witney, the former chief executive of the European Defense Agency. “It offers bigger arguments to proliferators around the world.”

After Brexit, a number of compromises are emerging. To pay for a new military aspect, Britain will have to cut spending on more conventional armed forces. He will try to secure deeper relations in the Indo-Pacific region, even if officials say he will not turn his back on Europe.

Underlining this complex balance: Britain will aim to expand economic relations with China, while criticizing human rights history and trying to contain Beijing’s threat to Britain’s national security.

“We have a balance to reach,” Mr Johnson said, adding that now was not the time for a cold war with China. This year, the British aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth is to conduct patrols in the disputed waters of the South China Sea, amid rising tensions with Beijing.

Much of the review is shaped by Britain’s experience during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the country’s dependence on extensive global supply chains left it vulnerable to border closures.

Meanwhile, the successful development and launch of the vaccine has turned into a victory with little power.

Britain’s foreign policy will now be supported by a large-scale domestic spending program aimed at strengthening British research and development. The UK aims to target at least £ 6.6 billion, the equivalent of $ 9.18 billion, in defense funding over the next four years to areas such as space, targeted weapons and advanced high-speed missiles.

“It seems that the UK approach is becoming increasingly French and less liberal,” said Malcolm Chalmers, deputy director general of the Royal United Services Institute, a defense think tank. “There is more emphasis on our national technology base.” France has previously supported the construction of internal defense and technology capabilities.

How this review is paid will be detailed next week when the government introduces a series of cuts to the country’s army. Analysts expect the government to reduce the number of soldiers, fighter jets and frigates to pay for rejection. But Britain’s finances are already stretched following the pandemic, raising questions about whether or not the new strategy will be properly implemented, Mr Witney said.

The review states that the US will remain the UK’s most important ally, both commercially and militarily. Britain will continue to view Russia as its number one opponent, and Britain will try to build diplomatic ties in the Indo-Pacific region.

He has applied to become a partner of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and is trying to join the trans-Pacific free trade agreement. Mr. Johnson is due to visit India soon.

Last year, the British government announced the largest increase in military spending since the Cold War, in an attempt to secure its position as the US’s main military ally in Europe after Brexit. The country will spend another £ 24.1 billion over the next four years, compared to last year’s budget. This, the government says, reaffirms Britain’s attachment to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Write to Max Colchester at [email protected]