U.K. Boosts Defense Spending in Response to Russia and China
TimeMar 18, 2023
UK Updates Security Framework; Takes Aim at China, Russia
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Image copyright: Sputnik/Kremlin Pool/AP [via Al Jazeera]
The Facts
On Monday, the UK published an update to its foreign policy and security blueprint, the Integrated Review 2023 (IR23), characterizing China as an "epoch-defining challenge" to the world order and warning the UK's security depends on the outcome of the Ukraine war.
While the IR23 toughened the language describing Beijing and Moscow since the first version in 2021, it stopped short of defining China as a threat. Chinese state media, however, responded with warnings that this type of "continuous hype" would damage relations between the two nations.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
The UK government presented a bleak, albeit realistic, outlook of the global security environment, with predictions of further deterioration in international relations in the coming years. With a growth in the number of advanced weapons systems and an increasingly aggressive political space, Western nations are right to take proactive actions, such as this revised policy.
Establishment-critical narrative
Many western politicians seem as eager as ever to continue waging their proxy war against Russia and China. “Armchair generals” see the conflict in Ukraine as a zero-sum game, but it's not their troops dying on the battlefield. Meanwhile, Rishi Sunak is stepping up military aid for a decisive victory over Russia while at the same time beefing up the UK’s defense budget, provoking another conflict in the Pacific.
