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The UK will launch its foreign and defence policy review on Tuesday. I will curate a thread capturing the commentary. My hypothesis is, like the review, the commentary will be full of indulgent, bombastic as well as dangerous colonial tropes. An imperial march in several parts..
First up, my favourite UK based curator offers this .... https://twitter.com/PJDunleavy/status/1371414270219550720
The article makes the point that Johnson is driven by a vision of a new, mercantilist, globally-focused UK, comfortable selling arms to the Saudi’s, experienced at ignoring the international rules based order with his eyes firmly focussed on the Indo-Pacific.
As we wait for the review, its probably worth pointing out that the UK is being taken to court by the EU. One can only summise from the tweets below that the UK is ill-prepared for how the international rules based system runs. https://twitter.com/tconnellyRTE/status/1371366926518263812
Beyond the capability gaps is the domestic politics. I don’t know how they will reconcile the need for heavy protectionism for villages and towns that voted Brexit, with the mood in the cities who support free trade and want in on the CPTPP.
Adding Rory Medcalf’s interview on China Talk Show. Am currently reading his book. So far, he points out how reslient and fast-moving the Indo-Pacific is. He also uses history to remind us that the concept of the Indo-Pacific is pre-colonial. https://twitter.com/Rory_Medcalf/status/1371413646824198145
It’s an important data point, because it calls our attention to how large parts of the Indo-Pacific are post-colonial, or on a post-colonial path.
Time for a break. We are hours away from the release. So far I have not proved by hypothesis. Mason calls the proposals ludicious. And, Medcalf tells us that the Indo-Pacific is a multipolar region, made up of lots of minilaterals. Start again in about eight hours.
Its not just the UK interested in the Indo-Pacific. SecDef Austin began his first overseas trip as defense secretary by dropping in Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii before travelling to South Korea, Japan and India. https://twitter.com/IISS_org/status/1371170015806943232
One last tweet for the night. Whānau in the Philippines unfriending the Pope and his imperial church for the damage done. https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/1371076141767913473
Morning. Was rummaging around in UK security policy twitter and found thus wee minilateral. An agreement between the UK and Aussie to colonise space together. https://twitter.com/WJames_Reuters/status/1364194022110199813
Found this as well 
https://twitter.com/TadhgHickey/status/1371387297388761090
https://twitter.com/TadhgHickey/status/1371387297388761090
A reminder, this thread is about the UK pivot back to Indo-Pacific. Am trying to capture the commentary as it happens. Why? Because while I think the UK’s announcement will be performative, unfunded without much interoperability, it should worry all Indigenous peoples. https://twitter.com/mapmakerdavid/status/1313263555483844609
It’s difficult enough dealing with the imperial march of China and the US, let alone our own nations. It will be interesting to see if the UK presents as a challenge or whether its more of a colonial echo and spectacle.
Noting that it’s not just the UK intetested. https://twitter.com/nicoblar/status/1371410745922048003
Well, it looks like the Guardian has a leaked copy. Almost a Cabinet convention in the home of Westminster to table key policy documents with the press before Parliament. https://twitter.com/guardian/status/1371566546372456448?s=20
Apparently, at the centre of the Indo-Pacific pivot is this special nugget - the UK is going to deploy one of its central components in its carrier strike group. Just what we all need the UK getting lost in the South China Sea.
Guardian quotes the review ..."the centre of intensifying geopolitical competition with multiple potential flashpoints”. Giving off a vibe like their Indo-Pacific pivot is more about UK arms trade and stoking tension in our region than being a reliable trade and security partner.
The Royal Navy has been in decline since the 1980s. It has struggled to deploy, let alone maintain its commitments to policing its trade routes and protecting British tankers in distress in the Strait of Hormuz. So why deploy such a big asset on the other side of the world?
This little nugget ... “Blighty showing up in the old neighbourhood is very easily seen through the lens of imperial nostalgia or post-Brexit hubris" From @graham_euan in @FT https://on.ft.com/3vodXvL
"The Brits should be judged on their consistency of presence, not a once-in-a-generation deployment of a carrier group, that’s not really of much use.” The question remains: is the pivot anything beyond colonial nostalgia or hubris?
The question remains: is the pivot anything beyond colonial nostalgia or hubris?
^sidebar^ The UK should only be allowed to send its carrier if they undertake to return all the taonga/taoka they stole from across the region and placed in the British Museum and other private collections. 
