Why what happens in the South China Sea matters to the UK: Laure Beaufils

It’s not just the Indo-Pacific in general terms. What happens in the South China Sea matters to the UK. It does so because:

1. Freedom of navigation is essential. Yes it is essential to our security and prosperity. But it is essential as a cornerstone of international maritime law.

1. We have a collective responsibility to ensure that the SCS is not a testing ground for reckless behaviour.

1. The consequences of escalation and crisis in the South China Sea would have implications for us all – including, but not limited to, major risks to global economic stability.

Earlier this year, we published our Integrated Review Refresh – a comprehensive strategy that reflects on the intensification of competition, the great pace of geopolitical change, and increasingly volatile and contested world. And our place within that.

Our conclusion of the Review is that those who believe in the principles of openness, good governance, respect for sovereignty and respect for international law must do more to build our resilience and out-cooperate and out-compete those driving instability. As such, the UK will take a more active and activist posture on the world stage.

So, our direction is clear, and we will proudly and confidently play our part to support a free and open Indo-Pacific.

This begins by standing up for what we believe in. We stand up for international law, the international law-based maritime order, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) – something that is frequently reinforced by our Ministers in their public speeches.

The Minister for Indo-Pacific reiterated the UK’s unwavering support for UNCLOS on its 40th anniversary at the South China Sea International conference last year.

The UK will continue to demonstrate its support and stand up for the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and non-aggression. We will continue to oppose any action that raises tensions or the risk of miscalculation.

We stand up for international maritime law in our words, but also in our actions.

The 2021 deployment of the Carrier Strike Group (in which we engaged with over 40 countries), and long-term deployment of two Offshore Patrol Vessels, HMS Spey and HMS Tamar, has not just allowed us to further defence engagement across the region, but enabled us to walk the talk – in particular on freedom of navigation.

But it’s not just about hard-edged security and defence.

The UK is also offering its expertise in areas such as Maritime Domain Awareness, Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported Fishing and tackling environmental damage to coastal areas through our own world-renowned agencies, such as the Royal Navy’s MDA team and the UK’s Hydrographic Office.

It’s also about the economy, economic resilience and economic security.

Through continuing to build strong partnerships and collaboration in this way, together we can ensure a more stable, peaceful and prosperous future for all.

Laure Beaufils is the British Ambassador to the Philippines and Palau. This is an edited version of a recent speech.