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Great Britain’s “planned naval base” in Southeast Asia is seen as a “muscle-flexing” by China, according to Chinese analysts cited by the SCMP on January 1st.
According to the outlet “Britain’s plan to build a new military base in Southeast Asia is likely to further complicate the strategic landscape in a region already fraught with maritime disputes and geopolitical rivalry between Beijing and Washington,” citing experts such as Xu Liping, a professor at the Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Answering a question regarding UK military presence in the case of a no-deal Brexit, UK Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson said that he was looking into new opportunities for the armed forces as he described leaving the EU as ”our biggest moment as a nation since the end of the Second World War.”
The defence secretary also downplayed the significance of his announcement that 3.500 troops were being put on standby, describing it as “good sensible planning to make sure that everything runs as smoothly as possible.”
He also said that no requests from foreign governments have been received as of yet and that nothing is concrete.
However, on December 30th, the Sunday Telegraph cited an anonymous source close to Williamson, who claimed that the new bases could be sited in Singapore or Brunei in the South China Sea, or Montserrat or Guyana in the Caribbean “within the next couple of years.”
“I am also very much looking at how can we get as much of our resources forward based, actually creating a deterrent but also taking a British presence. We are looking at those opportunities not just in the Far East but also in the Caribbean as well,” Williamson was cited as saying.
He also praised the efforts made to ensure that UK military assets are visible deployed around the world.
“For the first time in a generation this Christmas we have two ships operating in the Pacific Ocean a long way from home. We are the second biggest inward investor into that region. So if our economic interests are there we should also have a military interest there.”
With just about 90 days left in the EU, the Defense Secretary thinks it is necessary to present a more optimistic picture of the UK post-Brexit.
Mr Williamson predicts that the “political focus will shift quite dramatically” after Brexit and the UK has to build “deeper relationships with Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Caribbean countries but also nations right across Africa.” These countries would possibly “look to us to provide the moral leadership, the military leadership and the global leadership.”
“They realise that we are good partners and actually the values that we stand for of tolerance, democracy and justice, these are the values that they hold dear to their hearts.”
Thus, despite the “planned naval base in Southeast Asia” being a rumor based on an anonymous sources, the South China Morning Post cited even more analysts to make predictions of grim outcomes if it would happen.
“It is clearly a muscle-flexing gesture targeting China and shows closer engagement of external powers in the South China Sea disputes,” said Xu Liping. Xu believed Washington, was behind London’s alleged plan for a military base in the region.
Ni Lexiong, a naval expert at the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, said that the alleged plan was evidence that the UK and allies are aligning themselves with US President Donald Trump’s hardline approach on China.
“It is a complementary step to Washington’s Indo-Pacific strategy and Washington will be pleased,” Ni said.
Chinese experts also questioned the feasibility of the naval base plan.
Could you imagine the bleating if the PLAN established a naval facility in Morocco or Faroe Islands?
afaik they have one in Djibouti, but are preparing to build some around Somalia too.
The little problem is, that China mainland distance to South China Sea is zero but Britain is ten thousands of nautical miles away.
Britain is in the risk that China decide to open a naval base in Northern Ireland to counter Britons.
And by the way, Chinese economy is 3 times bigger then British. China has 3 carriers now and Britain have currently only one carrier with one piece of F35B junk. Britain was forced to scrap existing cariers recently due to lack of funding. China is really scared LOL.
All good apart from Ireland, both Brit -occupied and not ,is totally under the sway of zionatoists.
Maybe somewhere in Melanesia, one of the islands friendly to US and Australia also…just a guess???
I bet it is Solomons or Papua New Guinea.
Damn , I knew the Royal Mail shouldn’t have destroyed the dodgy D Day commemorative stamps :)
Haha.
Mr. Weaselson’s proposal confirms that he also suffers from the moronic, idiotic, hubris-filled, mentally-deranged brain eating disease that afflicts his masters and partners in worldwide mobbing attacks, the freaks in Washington, DC. Any money spent on these bases would be a useless waste of money. I’m sure that the recipients of the “world class National Health service” and the increased number of people living in poverty and dependent on food banks would be proud to have more overseas British military bases.
Exactly! F-UK-US…a Corpse rotting from the inside out. Corruption and the destruction of their own populace will be their end…..and it will not be nice to our so called elites .
Most of British islands are now occupied by ISIL, Taliban, Al Quaida and others masked as immigrants. And UK wants to open foreign bases? LOL
Not only that, UK is a tiny bankrupt island facing a deadbeat Brexit economy and the pensioners already live on dog food and growing homelessness. But the limey gits are number one Americunt and Jew arsekissers.
“UK Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson said that he was looking into new opportunities for the armed forces as he described leaving the EU as ”our biggest moment as a nation since the end of the Second World War.””
Buddy ought to wait until Brexit before making any promises. It takes a lot of money to operate overseas military bases and there is a real good chance Great Britain will be left without a pot to piss in unless some miracle happens between now and Brexit.
Boy Williamson could deploy his troops to Annex the Suez Canal again :)
Both of two countries are oppressors. Let them Kill each other…
Yea UK….smoking your pipe dream of defending your non existing empire, you do not have the ships, logistical support or armaments to project your “power” into Pacific.
You are removing your carrier from the dangers of Russian hypersonic weapons only to face the high supersonic Chinese cruise missiles. Your Sea Ceptors are not going to do well against swarms of Chinese cruise missiles approaching the carrier at Mach 3-4.
they have Australian and NZ for South East Asia. Oz is rebuilding it’s Navy. UK/OZ have RAAF and army base at Malaysia and have done since WW2. They shousld have 2 bases in Australia, one up north and one down in tasmania. All for less than is costs for one year’s membership of the EU
It won’t be as hard as you think. And then there’s diplomacy, which goes a long way, especially when you show friends old and new how the Chinks are getting nations into debt
And western central bank are not getting nations into debt?
Regardless of your mentioned bases, UK does not have enough ships and most importantly the armaments to defend themselves against Chinese antiship missiles.
“This Christmas we have two ships operating in the Pacific Ocean, a long way from home”.
That says it all.
How is he going to man it, considering we don’t have enough forces to man our own bases, let alone defend the UK. Not forgetting, they flogged most of the navy, either to other nations, or their scrapyards.
Our Empire will rise again… Williamson has just bought 11 of these (1 for himself of course):
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/FX98wtyzCJs/hqdefault.jpg
Is ‘air fix’ still going?
Forget Airfix, it’s poor quality kits with fit together poorly. If you want good quality model kits Japan is where its at.
I honestly dont know, but they were the ones I assumed would pop up on the search.
Airfix A55104 starter kit HMS Victory Classic Ship Gift Set https://www.amazon.co.uk/Airfix-A55104-starter-Victory-Classic/dp/B0071LF3JY/ref=sr_1_11?s=kids&ie=UTF8&qid=1546500662&sr=1-11&keywords=airfix+%2F
– perfect for ‘Tim but Dim’.
You really should make a new year resolution to be politically correct AM.
The UK military is a Gender Neutral group of caring,sharing and diverse ‘ Associates ‘ these days, who are all Stake Holders in the evolution from yesterdays rough soldiers and are now moving forward to todays armed samaritans with attitude ,who travel around the globe in billion pound ships and things.
Engendering this change to be ‘early adopters’ of LGBTI military awareness year, is a ‘ core value’ of the British Ministry of Defence .
I hope you can now ‘ focus on this critical area’ of ‘power projection’ and become more ‘consumer centric’ with your eccentric opinions ‘ going forward’ in 2019 AM :)
So how is he going to ‘man’ it? Ha-ha, forgot to move forward with 21st century orders.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ecad5756884b48f6185dd691ca4387c790d6d4bfd4956ed8304e98eb40b2e13f.jpg
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2e3253983cdadfd7c60e1729408009d308f920fb26552fa75afec98192b94043.jpg
Nato Neutral Nappies, is the closest I will get to PC MoD.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/671bed926ca6356e78e0b22825ac3d12afd266c35c9e241a367f25e426aa6234.png
That’s better AM. You are ‘On Message ‘ now :)
LOL
Well I would gladly die under the rainbow flag. Wouldn’t you?
Only in a shit storm Paul. :)
Does he know his history? Including the fact that times have changed since the ‘English East India Company’, courtesy Indian independence from the UK, via the ‘Indian Independence Act 1947’?
Asia and the British Empire
‘…The English were relative late-comers to the commercial opportunities presented by maritime trade on an oceanic scale but that did not prevent them from trying to discover their own routes to the Orient. The first English attempts were to try to discover a North-West passage linking Europe to Asia. John Cabot in the service of Henry VII and his son Sebastian Cabot in the service of Henry VIII probably represent England’s first serious attempts at maritime exploration on an inter-continental scale. The hoped for route appeared elusive in the wastes of North America and the Arctic Sea…
…With its dominant positions in India and China, Britain would spend much of the rest of the 19th Century extending its economic and political powers to defend these interests, trade routes or fill the spaces in between. Therefore, much of the Middle East was taken to safeguard routes to India. Burma, the Malay States, Borneo were trading destinations frequented by ships going to and from India and China or harboured pirates who could disrupt that trade and so came within the purview of the British. Even the traumatic disruptions of the Indian Mutiny would just see the commercial East India Company replaced by the even greater resources of Her Majesty’s Government with the formation of the Raj. Central Asia became a battleground for influence as Britain tried to prevent the spreading power of Tsarist Russia from impinging on its Jewel in the Crown of India. There became a logic of expansion in order to safeguard the most valuable parts of Britain’s Asian Empire; India and China. The latter may not have been painted red like the former, but Britain had all the benefits of access to the markets of China without the responsibilities of running it or providing it with an administration or an infrastructure. These two giants lay at the centre of British interests and concerns until the middle of the Twentieth Century…’
Ah the good old days.
Yes indeed. The opium wars, gunboats and HSBC :)
Once upon a time when we could laugh. So miss ‘The Sound of Laughter’.
Dick Emery Bank Holidays… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVpS4kJ8ZOg
Ye of little faith
Why would any South Asian country want a UK base on their lands? It’s not like that base would have anything but UK interests at heart.
Brunei basically exists as a British forward operating base in SE Asia anyway. And Singapore LOVES to have Western countries use it as a military base, as its a tiny small island surrounded by very large neighbors in Malaysia and Indonesia. I think its warplans only involve fighting them, so anything that would give pause to those two countries, like a UK base, is considered as good as far as Singapore is concerned.
Singapore hasn’t got the land to spare. Brunei could be dumb enough.
Interesting – Anglosphere coming back into the fold?
Perhaps the British military should first prevent illegal immigrants , child trafficking and the illegal importing of drugs to Britain, before the navy interferes in other nations thousands of miles away.
I somehow get the feeling that may be you harbour the forlorn hope that the armed forces are there to protect the British people. For my part I fear that has never been true.
The Forlorn Hope has breached many walls in the past, so I do have faith unto death :)
Point taken. But going forwards I think it is likely that these forces will be turned on us. For example do you think the police are there to protect the likes of us? I have see the current situation termed anarcho – tyranny. That is they do as they please and we face tyranny.
Thinking a little more about ‘ breaching walls’ I would ask if these walls were breached for us or were we just cannon fodder ?
I agree with you and most of the time those employed by the state ,tend to stay loyal to the state. Unless of course, those in command of troops and police decide to change events to their advantage.
That is why police and army personnel with no affinity or ties to the areas or countries they are deployed to are the most brutal.
Yes it’s very bleak, and the prospects are getting worse. I think you understand that a substantial section of the population hate my guts ( and yours as well) and will not hesitate to take everything we have. They are already destroying our history. It’s only a matter of time before they destroy us as well. ‘Clown politicians’ in the Tory party are the biggest traitors of all time.
They are indeed clowns and their payoff will be Non Exec Directorships and UN/UU type jobs.
Well it up the payment from thirty pieces of silver.
a silly idea thought up by the more than inept minister of defense and most likely an idea spawned by the cia, usa since if the brits can be lured all the way to the far east, they can be lured to partake in the wars that pentagon/cia are planning to set off in or around china – when will they ever learn? never is the correct answer!
Well, if that would happen it would only be long overdue payback for pulling the U.S. into two “world wars” in which they had no interest nor desire whatsoever, just to save Britain’s sorry ass, the real starters of both those wars.
” These countries would possibly “look to us to provide the moral leadership, the military leadership and the global leadership.”
I live in both New Zealand and Australia and I can say unequivocally that no one in these countries looks to the UK for either moral or global leadership. The United Kingdom is a has-been, economically, morally and militarily. It would be like relying on your 93 year old grandmother to help you in a street fight . .
I reckon that both countries have long stopped looking to the UK for any leadership or military aid, probably since Pearl Harbour happened and the UK could do jack shit to help them. There’s a reason why all the former traditional white dominions are now orientated 100% towards Washington, not London.
Does the UK even have a Royal Navy left that could deploy in anything significant numbers? And considering that the Chinese can even target the USN’s mighty carrier battle groups with ungodly amounts of Macross missile spam, would it be smart to send a carrier to the Far East that can only deploy short ranged aircraft with limited payloads?
Also, smart thinking to piss off China, just when you probably need to renegotiate a full comprensive new trade agreement with China after Brexit. That will get you a good deal for sure. Piss off Europe, piss off China, piss off Russia, again, the Conservatives prove that they are the party of the long term strategic vision for Britain’s economic future.
A Naval base in Syria!
UK is already powering Cyprus keeping Turkey out and Greece down and overseeing Suez. Syria could be a stronghold and constant irritation for Russia, our worst and most hostile competitor.