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UK tilts foreign policy in favor of China and India

"What we're seeking to do is identify the trends ... and work for a more peaceful, prosperous world."

Jack Straw, British foreign secretary

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw set out a new direction for British foreign policy yesterday that will shift the balance toward the growing economies of China and India.

Straw spoke at a "leadership conference" in London of 200 British ambassadors, high commissioners, governors and other Foreign Office staff brought back from their posts worldwide.

Britain must be assertive in its foreign policy if it is to help encourage peace and stability in a rapidly changing world, the foreign secretary said.

Energy and migration would be key areas in the years to come, Straw said in laying out British priorities overseas.

The Middle East, including Iraq and Iran, are sure to remain a major focus, he said. And Britain had to be active in its diplomacy, rather than just responding to events.

At times of rapid change, "if you don't make the right decisions internationally, you can end up with the consequences of those changes being adverse," he said.

"What we're seeking to do is identify the trends ... and work for a more peaceful, prosperous world," he said.

As well as his speech, a 60-page government white paper was published on the future of diplomacy.

In the last white paper two years ago, only two paragraphs were devoted to China and India. Since then, there has been growing recognition that China is almost certain to be one of the dominant economic forces of the 21st century and a challenge to the US' superpower status. India too is emerging as a powerhouse and being courted by the US as a possible counterweight to China.

The white paper, An Active Diplomacy for a Changing World, comes only weeks after US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced a redeployment of diplomatic staff away from Europe to China and India and to Muslim countries in the Middle East and Asia where hostility towards the US has grown. A similar shift in priorities is taking place in Britain.

The Foreign Office has frequently been sidelined by Downing Street since British Prime Minister Tony Blair took office, particularly in the run-up to the Iraq war. As well as the 200 overseas representatives, the London gathering will be attended by 150 London-based Foreign Office staff.

Diplomats had the opportunity throughout the day-long event to challenge Straw and his ministerial colleagues, Sir Michael Jay, the most senior diplomat, and Sir Gus O'Donnell, the Cabinet secretary.

The event was closed to the media, other than Straw's opening speech.

The white paper stressed a need for British diplomats to pay more attention to issues such as climate change and diminishing energy supplies.
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