The UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has planned a visit to India at the end of April which will be his first worldwide journey after the UK’s exit has closed the ties with European Union. The visit to India aims at increasing UK alternatives in the Indo-Pacific region, and also to create a democratic counterweight to China.
UK authorities want to expand their reach among democratic nations in the Indo-Pacific region while strengthening the bond with the United States. The UK government has highlighted a British aircraft carrier deployment to the region while calling Indo-Pacific an ‘increasingly the geopolitical center of the world’ and also announced a previously postponed visit to India.
After completing its exit from the European Union at the end of 2020, the UK government said it would ‘tilt’ its focus towards Indo Pacific as a part of its Integrated Review of the government policy for the next few years. In February 2021, Johnson’s government made a formal request to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), expecting a total of 11 country blocks to start new avenues for post-Brexit trade and influence.
Unsurprisingly, the relations between UK and China have strained over few serious issues such as restrictions on Huawei’s investment in Britain’s 5G network, Hong Kong Human rights conflicts, and also COVID-19 discussion between two nations. UK will also be holding a key role in hosting the G7 summit in June, and also in the COP26 climate conference. Moreover, PM Johnson has also invited Indo-Pacific nations Australia, India, and South Korea to the G7 summit as a guest. Though Britain is focusing on seizing the trade opportunities, this move has caused raised eyebrows among some other attendees of the G7 summit.
