India -UK Strategic and Defence cooperation
On 22 December 2016, David Cameron announced the referendum on the UK's EU membership, and soon after this, an independent voice is been heard in its foreign diplomacy. The integrated review of security, defence, development, and foreign policy titled as ‘Global Britain in a competitive age’ crystalizes the government's vision for a global Britain to strengthen its relations beyond the EU. The command paper— ‘Defence in a competitive age’ and the above-mentioned document has clearly signaled the UK's tilt to the Indo pacific. The increased British appreciation for Indo pacific is a sign of changing determinants in its foreign policy.
For a very long time, this geostrategic theatre was ignored by the British government and it was only after the events of the 2008 financial crisis that it started investing in the emerging economies of Indo China to boost its economy. More significantly the decision to leave the single market has pushed the United Kingdom to engage with the most dynamic economies-- of which Indo pacific is a hub for such. Moreover, while launching the integrated review, the British prime minister Boris Johnson has singled out India by describing it as the world's biggest democracy and promised to visit India and "transform bilateral cooperation over the next ten years across the full range of bilateral shared interests". This particular tendency of broadening its strategic horizons in the Indo-Pacific is mostly for its own security reasons.
Recently, the UK India relations have undergone a sea change with the launch of the '2030 roadmap'. Both the prime ministers have made a historic commitment to strengthening their cooperation across health, climate, trade, education, science and technology, and defence. The 2030 vision is to re-energize their relation in the field of trade, investment, and technological collaboration, deepen its defence and security cooperation, and have a closer engagement with the concerns and issues raised in the Indo pacific region. The constant collaboration in the COVID19 mitigation efforts has acted as a solid base to redefine their bilateral relationship all over again. Both the nations have kept a tight grip on their joint research, development, manufacture and distribution of the Astra Zeneca/oxford vaccine.
The November 2016 visit by the British PM Theresa May was mostly seen as unsuccessful due to the issue raised against the visa system of the UK. Thus, in 2021 UK came up with its new points-based visa and immigration system which is described by the government as "simple effective, and flexible", and would treat EU and non-EU citizens (like Indians) equally. This new system is seen as beneficial for the Indian students and the skilled workers as they would be treated on par with EU citizens. However, there is still more to be done to relax immigration policies and the visa system for Indian citizens. In a way to deepen and unlock the trade opportunities both the countries have launched an ambitions free trade agreement and kicked off '5-star year of trade'. It is been expected that a total trade of £28 billion a year by 2035 will be seen and it would increase wages by up to £3 billion across the UK. The FTA negotiations with the UK are expected to give a big boost in the exports of labor-intensive sectors such as Textile, jewelry, leather, Marine products, and processed Agri products. Many Indian experts, on the other hand, have highlighted concerns about the hurdles and potential legal difficulties associated with the early harvest trade agreement.
Both the countries are keen to deepen their engagement in the Indo pacific as their foreign ministers held a detailed discussion on key bilateral and regional issues. There were extensive talks to strengthen cooperation in the areas of cyber and space domain, radical extremism and the spread of terrorism in West Asia and Indo pacific, humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, people to people relationship while acknowledging their commitment to multilateralism. Recently, the UK and Indian PM have advanced defence cooperation to a new level. The leaders have recognized their common interest in the free and open Indo pacific with a more specific focus on maritime and industrial collaboration. The UK India defence partnership has set out a shared vision of regional security, prosperity, and stability. Significantly, both the countries have agreed to work on maritime domain awareness, which also comprises a historic agreement on maritime information sharing, a joint trilateral exercise program, and invited the United Kingdom to join India's Information Fusion Centre in Gurgaon. Jeremy Quin, the UK minister for defence procurement has even said that "We remain committed to close collaboration with India as we both adapt to meet future threats and look to innovate our defence equipment programs and systems."
India and UK have a number of bilateral dialogue mechanisms which are bound by their strong historical ties. Since both the nations have upgraded their status to strategic partners in 2004, it is seen that they are getting closer while managing some key building blocks in their way. The anti-immigration elements within the conservative party led by Johnson are one of the significant issues to be checked.
The bilateral relation of both nations has undergone a significant change with the emergence of a new geographic space—Indo pacific region. UK has recognized the strategic significance of Indian state amidst the increasing power of China within the Indo pacific region. The new strategic reality of the multi-polar world has also given an important role to the Indian state in the Indian and the Pacific oceans. Thus, the UK in an opportunity to broaden its footprints across Indo pacific theatre has given India enough significance in its foreign policy engagements. Geographical proximity and the rising economy have provided the Indian state a greater platform to expand its diplomatic footprint. These new agreements and the relentless diplomatic efforts are expected to bring a positive transformation and bring more scope for improvement in the UK India relationship than in the past.
Pic Courtesy-Benjamin Davies at unsplash.com
(The views expressed are those of the author and do not represent views of CESCUBE.)
