A common mistake men make is thinking a woman is attracted to them when she’s simply being friendly and polite. Rishi Sunak risks making a similar error on his visit to the United States.
America’s greatest strength lies not in its colossal economy or unparalleled military, but in its defence and security alliances. Having won the Second World War, the US constructed the rules-based international order, a somewhat amorphous term that Secretary of State Antony Blinken defines as:
“The system of laws, agreements, principles, and institutions that the world came together to build after two world wars to manage relations between states, to prevent conflict, to uphold the rights of all people.”
In the face of a rising and revisionist China, President Joe Biden appears keener than ever to build (and indeed repair) relations with allies, most notably in the Indo-Pacific region. Not least because a hawkish view on China is one of the few remaining bipartisan ideas in Washington.
Consequently, gearing up for great power competition now lies at the heart of US foreign policy. To that end, America has five treaty allies in the Indo-Pacific – Japan, South Korea, Australia, the Philippines and Thailand – in addition to numerous other partners. It views these networks as an asymmetric advantage with which the People’s Liberation Army simply cannot compete.
Where does this leave Britain? Not totally out in the cold, as demonstrated by our involvement in Aukus, the security pact in which the US and UK agreed to provide Australia assistance in acquiring nuclear-powered submarines. Meanwhile, Britain remains an important Nato ally and member of the Five Eyes intelligence pact.
But there is a risk of conflating America’s desire to bolster its defence and security ties – with Britain or indeed any other nation – with it wanting anything to do with greater economic cooperation.
Rishi Sunak has already given up on that most sunlit of Brexit uplands, the US free trade deal, as free trade has fallen to near the bottom of US priorities. Biden loves to talk about ‘made in America‘ while the Republican Party under Donald Trump has taken a sharp protectionist turn.
In visiting Washington D.C., the prime minister still displays ambition, in hoping to place US-UK economic “interoperability” on the same plane as defence and security while pushing for greater regulation surrounding artificial intelligence and raising concerns about American subsidies for clean energy firms. But there is little evidence this is something the US shares.
America does want a strong ally in the UK. But we ought not to mistake Biden’s desire to involve Britain in security and defence pacts as any enthusiasm for greater economic cooperation. In discussing it, he’s just being polite.
In the comment pages, ‘We’re not philistines’: Sir Nicholas Serota issues a blistering rebuke to the Standard’s criticism of Arts Council cuts. Ayesha Hazarika says business is open to Labour – but now it wants to see how the sums add up. While Alexandra Jones suggests the “icky” STI surge must herald the return of the condom.
And finally, where do food critics eat? Jimi Famurewa and David Ellis share their 20 favourite restaurants in the capital.
