Britain to increase security, investment ties to Southeast Asia with US$608 million deal

On a trip to Cambodia, Britain’s Asia minister said his government would invest up to US$608 million in the region and open a Singapore development office
Britain plans to offer security and maritime law advice to countries in the region, including training by its Royal Navy

Asean

Chad Brayin London

Published: 6:36pm, 4 Aug 2022

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Britain plans to increases its security and development links with Southeast Asia, including opening a regional investment office in Singapore later this year and offering advice on security and maritime law issues, including training with its Royal Navy.

On a trip to Cambodia, Amanda Milling, Britain’s minister for Asia, said the United Kingdom would seek to invest up to £500 million (US$608 million) in the Indo-Pacific region as part of the initiative.

The new plan of action will deepen cooperation on trade and investment, defence and security, as well as climate change, girls’ education, digital and science and technology, Milling said.

“The UK continues to deepen our economic ties and strengthen our security partnerships with these fast-growing economies in Southeast Asia,” Milling said in a statement. “Practical measures including opening a new BII [British International Investment] office in Singapore to boost investment and providing training on security and maritime law demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the region and increased engagement in the Indo-Pacific.”

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Milling was visiting Cambodia as part of a gathering of foreign ministers and their Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) counterparts.

The minister also said InfraCo Asia, which Britain supports through its funding to the Private Infrastructure Development Group, is providing a US$2.3 million loan to support the development of Cambodia’s water supply network.

The UK also recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the Asian Development Bank to support Asean states to invest in green infrastructure through a £107 million (US$130 million) trust fund.

The initiative comes on the heels of Britain announcing plans to scrap its foreign aid to China and increasing rhetoric over the South China Sea amid souring relations between Beijing and London.

In May, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said Britain would use its aid and investment to “challenge dependency on malign actors” and to offer alternatives for developing countries as part of the country’s new international development strategy.

Britain’s Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, a candidate to be the nation’s next prime minister, has said Britain will use its foreign aid to “challenge dependency on malign actors”. Photo: AFP

“In an increasingly geopolitical world, we must use development as a key part of our foreign policy. Malign actors treat economics and development as a means of control, using patronage, investment and debt as a form of economic coercion and political power,” Truss said at the time. “We won’t mirror their malign tactics, but we will match them in our resolve to provide an alternative.”

Truss is one of two candidates vying to replace Boris Johnson as Britain’s prime minister and the presumed front runner according to recent polling of members of the ruling Conservative Party, who will vote later this summer for a new leader.

Rishi Sunak, the former Treasury chief, and Truss have both expressed concerns about China’s growing influence globally and the need to have a “hard-headed” approach to China as part of their campaigns.

Britain also has been stepping up its presence in the region, joining Aukus, a trilateral security pact with Australia and the United States, last year as part of a check on China’s expansion in the Indo-Pacific.

In September 2021, the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth and its strike group sailed through contested waters in the South China Sea as part of freedom of navigation exercises and a series of military drills. Britain said last year it would permanently deploy two warships to Asia as part of a greater focus on the region.

The increased focus on Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific also comes amid rising tensions over Taiwan, following a visit there this week by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Beijing has condemned the visit as a betrayal of the one-China policy and announced a series of live ammunition military drills near the island this week.

On Wednesday, Britain and other members of the Group of Seven (G7) nations slammed China for “increasing tensions and destabilising the region” with its response to Pelosi’s visit.

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