July 28, 2025

Recently, when asked what the UK is doing to help the island of Taiwan "prepare for potential escalation from China," British Defense Secretary John Healey claimed, "If we have to fight, as we have done in the past, Australia and the UK are nations that will fight together." Although the UK official swiftly "hit the brakes" afterward by claiming that he was speaking in "general terms," his remarks, which the British media described as some of the "most robust from a British representative on the subject of possible engagement in a future war in the region," indicate the intention of some British politicians to boost the UK's presence in the Asia-Pacific.

Healey made the remarks while aboard HMS Prince of Wales in Darwin, Australia. Britain's current strategic posture cannot be separated from its underlying reality. As Washington reassesses the AUKUS trilateral security pact, the UK is eager to build a new bilateral framework with Australia, including signing a 50-year-long defense treaty on Saturday. Additionally, the country has sent a carrier strike group to join Australia's largest-ever military exercise, Talisman Sabre 2025. While the official explanation for the UK's participation in the drill is to "demonstrate Britain's unwavering commitment to Indo-Pacific security," in essence, this is a geopolitical performance to prove that Britain is still "relevant" in the region.

Healey's words recall a recent report from the Financial Times: The US pressured ally countries, including Japan and Australia, to clarify their stance in the event of a conflict in the Taiwan Straits, only to face "collective raising of eyebrows," citing sources. In contrast to these countries, which have maintained diplomatic restraint on the Taiwan question, the defense chief of the UK eagerly rushed to make a declaration that the UK was "ready to fight" in the Straits. No matter how you look at it, doesn't it look like London offering a "loyalty pledge" to Washington, which hopes its allies will share more security responsibilities? 

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https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202507/1339487.shtml