The maths behind Britain’s Huawei U-turn and pivot to the Indo-Pacific
Originally an SCMP article
The UK is heavily rebuilding its presence in Asia Pacific in its own pivot to the region. This includes negotiating trade deals with Japan, Australia, and ASEAN, as well as increased military activity. In 2021 the Royal Navy’s flagship, the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, will deploy to the region, in a move that will irk Beijing
The UK has, at the same time, come down hard on China re: Huawei and Hong Kong; although UK-China trade isn’t anywhere near the level of UK-US/EU trade, it is still putting billions of pounds’ worth of economic activity at risk with this approach
Yet London is calculating that it has more to gain by deeper relations with its allies, including the US, than with a cantankerous China
Original SCMP article: The maths behind Britain’s Huawei U-turn and pivot to the Indo-Pacific