onsdag 9. januar 2019

New ‘global Britain’ sets naval sights on Asia

If as expected the United Kingdom leaves the European Union later this year, the one-time colonial power will again shift its gaze towards Asia. That was confirmed last week when Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson said that Britain aims to establish a new naval base somewhere in Asia in the coming years. This is our biggest moment as a nation since the end of the Second World War,” Williamson said. “This is our moment to be that true global player once more – and I think the armed forces play a really important role as part of that.”

Singapore or Brunei, two of Britain’s old colonies in Southeast Asia, could be potential sites for the broached new base, a source close to Williamson told the Sunday Telegraph, a British newspaper. Brunei already hosts a small British military base, where a battalion of the Royal Gurkha Rifles is stationed and paid for by the country’s ruling Sultan.