Global Britain and the maiden deployment of the UKCSG

The UK government recently published its post-Brexit integrated review of security, defence, development and foreign policy named ‘Global Britain in a Competitive Age’. The document has been labelled the most radical reassessment of Britain’s place in the world since the end of the Cold War.

The report outlines Russia as ‘the most acute direct threat to the UK’ within the European neighbourhood whilst labelling the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as a ‘systemic competitor’ whose ‘military modernisation and growing international assertiveness within the Indo-Pacific region and beyond will pose an increasing risk to UK interests’. The document also highlights ‘rogue states’ such as North Korea and Iran as security threats. 

The integrated review emphasises the UK’s network of military alliances and partnerships. Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, has tasked the United Kingdom Carrier Strike Group (UKCSG), led by the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, to lead a naval flotilla 20,000 nautical miles (37,000 km) around the world to demonstrate that Britain is ‘not stepping back but sailing forth to play an active role in shaping the international system’.

The UKCSG was put through its paces for the first time in Exercise Joint Warrior throughout October 2020 which included military components from the U.S. Navy and the Royal Netherlands Navy. The exercise took place in preparation for the UKCSG’s maiden operational deployment, scheduled to begin in May 2021. 

British firms operating in or exporting to the Russian and Chinese markets should note the deployment of the UKCSG will increase tensions with these countries, potentially impacting the trade and business environment. Firms in the financial, automobile, pharmaceutical, and industrial machinery business communities should be particularly concerned regarding the potential deterioration in relationships. 

The concept of ‘Global Britain’ has branded the UK as a country focused on building stronger international relationships through free trade and cooperation in areas like health, climate change, and security. The UK’s post-Brexit trade relationships will rest on the dictum ‘navies follow trade and trade follows navies’. This will not be the case for markets in the countries that may feel threatened by the deployment.

Business opportunities will present themselves with those countries with whom cooperation is to be bolstered, however. For example, countries in the Middle East are major export destinations for the UK defence industry. The UKCSG will showcase the prowess of the British military and its equipment, possibly leading to lucrative future contracts for British defence contractors. 

The UK has already made inroads into joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and has been increasing its engagement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as part of its ‘Indo-Pacific tilt’. Moreover, the UK and Indian governments have recently released a policy paper named the ‘2030 Roadmap for India-UK future relations’.

It has been designed to remove barriers to trade and increase cross-border investment, fostering hitherto restricted market access. These deals will increase export and investment opportunities for British companies, especially as these markets’ middle classes grow rapidly.

Every exercise the UKCSG will undertake has been designed to bolster British influence abroad. The inclusion of foreign naval assets such as the USS The Sullivans, HNLMS Evertsen, and U.S. Marine Corps F-35B aircraft should not be perceived as a military weakness of the Royal Navy. Instead, it is an effort to bolster interoperability and signal a multilateral approach to issues of maritime security, something increasingly challenged by state actors. 

 The UKCSG deployment is deliberately global in nature and will transit almost every major trade artery in the world, culminating into 70 engagements with 40 countries. The deployment poses numerous political/business risks and opportunities for the UK.

These will be explored in more detail in two further spotlights that dissect the geopolitical tour of the UKCSG’s deployment through Europe, the Middle East, the Indian Ocean, and Southeast/Northeast Asia.