In a highly controversial message to Beijing, the foreign minister warned that China could face Russia-type sanctions from a “demanding” G7 if it threatened the security of others, adding: “They will not continue to rise if they do not play by the rules. . . » And he raised the prospect of a “global NATO” capable and willing to exert deep influence in China’s backyard in the Indo-Pacific, and to ensure that “the Pacific protects (and) democracies like Taiwan are able to defend themselves.” Her comments came in a high-profile speech to the Lord Mayor of London at the Easter banquet, in which she called for a reshuffle of the world order after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Stating that “geopolitics is back,” Ms Truss called for an increase in military spending by Western powers. He said the G7 – the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Japan and the European Union – should play a stronger role than the UN Security Council, which has a veto power over Moscow. Just one year after her government completed the process of withdrawing the United Kingdom from working with close allies in the EU, Ms Trus said she wanted to build stronger alliances with like-minded states in what she called a “freedom network”. “My vision is a world where free nations are assertive and uplifting,” she said. “Where freedom and democracy are enhanced through a network of economic partnerships and security partnerships. “Where attackers are limited and forced to take a better path.” The economic and security structures created after World War II were so “cleansed” that they did not deter Russian aggression in Ukraine, with Vladimir Putin calling his Security Council veto a “green light to barbarism,” he said. . Hopes that opening trade with authoritarian regimes such as Russia and China would lead to democratic change had also proved unfounded. In addition to strengthening the collective defense of NATO members and expanding the transatlantic alliance into a “global” body capable of intervening in the Indo-Pacific, the “new approach” must include the use of economic leverage in a “much more assertive manner” . , he said. “For too long many have been naive about the geopolitical power of the economy,” Ms Trous said. “Attackers see it as a foreign policy tool – using patronage, investment and debt as a means of exercising control and coercion. “They are dishonest in their approach. “Our response will not reflect their malicious tactics, but it should suit them better in terms of their determination.” Access to the world economy must depend on “playing by the rules”, with sanctions in Russia showing how world powers can end a regime that violates the rules of the system, he said. And it issued a stern warning that China could face similar treatment if it used its economic power to intimidate smaller states. He cited Beijing’s failure to condemn Russian war crimes and the growing imports of Russian goods since the start of the conflict, its rapid military build-up, the trade embargo on Lithuania and its efforts to influence NATO membership applications. But he said: “Their rise is not inevitable. They will not continue to climb if they do not play by the rules. “China needs trade with the G7. We represent about half of the world economy. And we have options. We have shown with Russia the kind of choices we are ready to make when international rules are being violated. “We have shown that we are ready to give priority to security and respect for sovereignty over short-term economic gain, mainly because we know that the cost of inaction is higher.” The G7 “should act as an economic NATO, collectively defending our prosperity,” he said. “If a partner’s economy is targeted by an aggressive regime, we must act to support it. All for one and one for all.”
