UK Foreign Secretary Says Beijing Presents ‘Epoch-Defining Challenge’

Former British PM David Cameron, now Foreign Secretary, says “lights are flashing red” and we live in a much more dangerous world.

Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron in a file photo on Jan. 4, 2024. Valdrin Xhemaj/PA

UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron has issued a stark warning about the increased dangers facing the world from multiple conflicts and Beijing’s aggression, saying, “The lights on the global dashboard are flashing red, so it is a much more dangerous, difficult, uncertain world.”

“We’ve not only got the situation in Europe with Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine … we’ve also got the crisis between Israel and Gaza [and] more wars in Africa and Myanmar.

“So there is even more need for friendly countries with so much history … like Britain and Australia to work so closely together,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

Mr. Cameron, who is in Canberra along with Defence Secretary Grant Shapps, stressed the importance of the AUKUS agreement, a trilateral partnership between Australia, Britain, and the United States, as a bulwark against rising global instability.

“We do this not because of some sort of delusions of empire grandeur, we do it because the Indo-Pacific is vital for the world’s prosperity,” Mr. Cameron said. “And it’s also vital for our security. Problems that start in Europe don’t end in Europe, [and] problems that start in the Indo Pacific don’t end in the Indo Pacific.”

Region Vital for Security

The United Kingdom sees Beijing’s “approach today as an epoch-defining challenge,” Mr. Cameron said.

The CCP, under Xi Jinping, has instituted and inflamed border conflicts with India, disputes in the South China Sea, and the sharp reduction of civil liberties in Hong Kong. It has also been increasingly aggressive towards Taiwan, causing the U.S. admiral of the Indo-Pacific command, John Aquilino, to warn of a potential invasion by 2027.

“We want to engage with China where we can … [on] things like climate change, but clearly, there are some very challenging aspects of its behaviour in Hong Kong and when it comes to the treatment of Australia in recent years,” the foreign secretary said.

Beijing Becoming More Assertive

“We are seeing a much more assertive China and this only underlines the need for Britain, Australia and like-minded partners to work together. We don’t want to see any unilateral action to change the situation between China and Taiwan,” Mr. Cameron said.

“We don’t want to see any unilateral action to change the situation between China and Taiwan and there’s no doubt that were there to be something like a blockade, it would have an absolute calamitous effect on not just on Taiwan but on the global economy.”

Such a blockade would be “more significant” than when COVID-19 first broke out, he predicted.

He also cautioned Israel that it should not proceed with an offensive in Rafah until it had a workable plan to protect civilians.

“That plan doesn’t exist at the moment,” he noted.

“It’s hard to see how you could carry out an offensive in Rafah without having a clear plan that’s going to avoid an appalling level of civilian casualties.”

More Israeli aid needs to flow into Gaza, he said.

Mr. Cameron also called for a ceasefire to allow time for another hostage swap.

Support for a Two State Solution

Asked if the UK would consider suspending its export licenses to Israel, Mr. Cameron reiterated that the UK’s position is that Israel has a right to defend itself, but it has to act in accordance with international humanitarian law.

“That’s something that we keep properly under review. And if that weren’t to happen, then obviously there will be consequences.”

The foreign secretary confirmed that the UK supports an eventual Palestinian state.

“I’ve said that certainly Israel shouldn’t have a veto over this issue. The long-standing British position has been the recognition comes when it most benefits a peace process and a two-state solution. It shouldn’t come at the start of the process because ... there’s quite a lot of work the Palestinian Authority has to do to reform and deal with the issues that they face, but it shouldn’t come at the end of the process.

“It could be part of this unstoppable momentum that we do need to see, to separate ... the Palestinian people from Hamas. Hamas don’t want a two-state solution, they want a one-state solution. A no-Israel solution. But ordinary Palestinian people I think do deserve the dignity and security that comes from statehood,” he said.