The Strategic Defence Review and China

By Alexander Neill
20 May 2010

One of the core outcomes of a strategic defence review in the wake of the general election will be a decision on whether the UK, faced with severe damage to the economy, will be able to maintain global reach in international security. A new factor in this decision-making ought to be the growing importance of China as an emerging global military power. In the light of improved military-military relations between the UK and China after the visit early this year of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Deputy Chief of the General Staff, General Ma Xiaotian, there are considerable opportunities for the UK in its engagement with the Chinese military as it assesses its position on the global stage. This dialogue will be an opportunity for the UK to fathom China’s intentions as it reforms its military but may also serve to strengthen the UK’s ‘soft power’ policies during an extended period of austerity for British defence. Any Sino-UK defence dialogue will also be a challenge for two reasons: firstly because the UK will have to weigh-up national security concerns voiced by the US and secondly but more importantly because there is currently a vacuum in debate in Europe of the strategic implications of a rising China with an increasingly sophisticated military capability.

Further Analysis: UK, Europe, China, Pacific, Defence Review, Global Strategy and Commitments

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