Source · Select Committees · Foreign Affairs Committee
Recommendation 60
60
Accepted in Part
Paragraph: 207
Sustain and strengthen UK naval presence in Indo-Pacific, pursuing full Quad membership.
Conclusion
[Protecting national interests requires a continuation of the UK’s strong naval presence in the West Indian Ocean sector of the Indo-Pacific region that should be increasingly coordinated with like-minded countries, in particular France, the United States and India, to sustain and strengthen the UK’s key role there.] Tilting horizons: the Integrated Review and the Indo-Pacific 73 India’s partnership with Australia, Japan and the US in the Quad offers a golden opportunity to strengthen these defence ties and the UK should be directly involved in it as a full member.
Government Response Summary
The government partially agrees, welcoming Quad members' collaborative efforts and committing to continued bilateral and multilateral work with them, but states that full membership of the Quad is not necessary for the UK to deliver practical cooperation.
Paragraph Reference:
207
Government Response
Accepted in Part
HM Government
Accepted in Part
147. The Government partially agrees with the Committee’s recommendations relating to the Indo-Pacific Quad. The Indo-Pacific Quad members are already amongst the UK’s closest partners in the region, and we welcome the collaborative efforts of Australia, India, Japan, and the US on critical issues such as climate change, health security and maritime security and the importance of this grouping for our shared objective of a free and open Indo-Pacific. We will continue to work with Quad members bilaterally and multilaterally on these issues. Membership of the Quad is not necessary for the UK to deliver this practical cooperation.