In brief - William Hagues speech in Asia


Some readers may be aware that the UK Foreign Secretary is in Asia at present, and trying to set out the case for wider UK engagement in this vastly complicated and hugely challenging area. The Think Defence website has a full transcript of his recent speech which sets out the UKs strategic  views on engagement with the region.
To Humphrey, this particular speech is of interest as it clearly sets out the level of UK engagement with, and involvement in, a very high profile area. It is well worth reading to gain a better understanding of the challenges we face in the region, and also to see how the UK policy in the area is likely to evolve.
The author is currently working on a long think piece which should hit the streets shortly about the UK military presence in Asia, and this speech goes a long way to showing why our military engagement in the area matters.
Link to a transcript of the speech is here - http://www.thinkdefence.co.uk/2012/04/britain-in-asia-william-hagues-speech/
Link to the FCO account of the visit is here - http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/foreign-secretary/recent-visits/se-asia

Comments

  1. Anonymous29 April 2012 at 13:40

    I was struck by the way Hague invoked Britain's role as a European power, with a call for more EU involvement mirrored by Japan's spokesperson citing UK's NATO membership and Japan's partnership with NATO as relevant factors in the new Anglo-Japan agreement on arms development and trade.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous12 December 2012 at 19:29

    I do agree with all the ideas you've

    offered to your post. They are very convincing and

    will definitely work. Nonetheless, the posts are very quick for newbies. May just you please lengthen them a little from

    subsequent time? Thanks for the post.
    Feel free to visit my web site ; http://www.spaingolf.us/index.html

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

OP WILMOT - The Secret SBS Mission to Protect the QE2

Image
  In April 1973 the iconic Cunard cruise liner ‘Queen Elizabeth 2’ (QE2) steamed out of Southampton docks on a private chartered cruise. Her voyage would take her through the Mediterranean Sea to Israel to mark the 25 th anniversary of the founding of the Israeli state. The risks were high though, with an increase in terrorism around the world, particularly targeting Israelis, and there was considerable hostility from other regional states. There was a clear concern about the security of passengers onboard, which is why when the QE2 sailed, she was carry 29 heavily armed Royal Marine members of the Special Boat Section (SBS) as both overt and covert passengers onboard to deal with any threat. This is the story of that operation, known as OP WILMOT. UK MOD © Crown copyright The QE2 was chartered to sail on 15 April from Southampton with around 700 passengers onboard, many of whom were believed to be American. The plan for the cruise involve calls at Lisbon, call at the ports of A...
Read more

Is It Time To Close BRNC Dartmouth?

Image
The Royal Navy is on the verge of closing the prestigious naval training college at Dartmouth and merging training with ratings at HMS Raleigh. This would surely mean the end of the RN as we know it and is clearly an outrage. That basically sums up a recent tabloid story , which seemed surprisingly well informed, that suggested that the RN is considering merging training as part of the ongoing Defence Review. Once you get past the initial blood pressure raising ‘OUTRAGE’ that some clearly wanted to feel, its worth looking further at the idea and perhaps asking the question “surely this makes complete sense”? The MOD is one of the largest landowners in the UK, owning huge swathes of land from remote moorland training estate where live firing can be practised, to the Cape Wrath naval gunnery range off Northern Scotland – where only last week F35 aircraft from HMS PRINCE OF WALES dropped live bombs on Garvie island. It has enormous barrack sites, housing thousands of soldiers and dozens...
Read more

"Hands to Action Stations" Royal Navy 1983 Covert Submarine Operations Off Argentina...

Image
  It was 0830 local time on Friday 11 March 1983. Off the coast of Argentina, south of the Valdes peninsula the Argentine A69 patrol frigate GUERRICO was proceeding south at 17kts on a covert patrol, all her radars powered down, and operating under ‘EMCON silent’ procedure. Unknown to her ships company though, the GUERRICO was being stalked by the Royal Navy submarine HMS OSIRIS, closed up at action stations and tracking the warships every move as she conducted secret intelligence gathering patrols off the Argentine coast… In the aftermath of the Falklands War in 1982 the Royal Navy established an ongoing commitment to deploy submarines to the region to monitor Argentinean military activity, gather intelligence and provide a credible military deterrent to any renewed aggression. The war itself had proven the value of submarine operations, with both nuclear and conventional submarines deployed in roles ranging from special forces support, covert reconnaissance and intelligence gat...
Read more