British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told NBC News on Sunday that a more assertive China poses a “systemic challenge” to the global order, as Britain, the United States and Australia aim to counter Beijing’s growing military might. The latest steps in the defense partnership are planned to be unveiled. Strength.
“The behavior we’ve seen in China in recent days is worrying,” Sunak told NBC News’ Lester Holt at the USS Midway museum shortly after arriving in San Diego for the three-way summit. He said China is “acting more authoritarian at home” and “more assertive abroad”.
Watch the interview Mondays on “TODAY” at 7am ET and “NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt” at 6:30pm ET/5:30pm CT.
“Certainly, China represents the greatest state threat to our economic interests. And it poses a systemic challenge to the world order,” Sunak said.
18 months after announcing the partnership, AUKUS is hosting President Joe Biden Sunak and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in San Diego to support newly agreed initiatives for the defense agreement. The ambitious defense partnership aims to deliver nuclear-powered submarines to Canberra in a bid to counter China’s military buildup in Asia.
China has called the AUKUS submarine deal “a blatant act of nuclear proliferation” that undermines regional peace and stability.
Sunak, a millionaire ex-banker and ex-finance minister, also took a dig at the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank after federal regulators stepped in to take back the lender’s deposits, saying it was critical of a large number of British technology companies. .
“I have been working over the weekend with our Finance Minister, the Chancellor and our Bank of England, our regulators, to find a suitable solution. We will announce about this soon.
Sunak, 42, took office on October 25, 2022, becoming the United Kingdom’s third leader in seven weeks after a period of political turmoil at home, the collapse of Boris Johnson’s scandal-ridden government and the light-speeding of Liz Truss after implosion.
He cited the example of a summit with French President Emmanuel Macron in France last week and a trilateral meeting scheduled for Monday in San Diego on the AUKUS defense deal, as Britain continues to play an increasingly important role on the world stage.
Sunak said, “Britain is back.”
Under the AUKUS deal and pending approval from Congress, Australia is expected to acquire five US Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines in the 2030s, while Britain and the US plan to give Australia eventually its own nuclear-powered submarines. To help build the fleet.
Although he cited concern over China’s actions, Sunak said there is still a place for engagement with the economic superpower, including on climate issues and the stability of the global economy.
Asked how Britain would react if China tried to take over Taiwan through military force, Sunak declined to give a direct answer.
Taiwan, a self-governing island that Beijing claims as its territory, has come under increasing pressure from China, which has not ruled out the use of force to seize control of the island. Taiwan’s most important international supporter is the United States, which is bound by law to provide it with defensive weapons but has long been unclear whether it would intervene militarily in the event of a Chinese attack.
Sunak said the international reaction to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine served to deter any country from launching an unprovoked attack.
“I think the best thing we can do to deter hostile action by any state anywhere is what we’re doing in Ukraine right now. And that’s where we saw Russia’s illegal, unprovoked invasion of Ukraine And the right thing to do in that situation is to provide Ukraine with all the assistance it needs to protect itself,” he said.
On Western military aid to Ukraine, he said: “I think it’s important right now that we intensify and intensify our support to Ukraine.”
He said London’s commitment to the AUKUS defense agreement was part of an overall increase in defense spending by Britain, which he said would continue to be a major military power. The British government on Sunday announced plans to increase its defense spending by around $6 billion over the next two years.
“We are investing more in our armed forces over the next few years, billions of pounds more. We are increasing our defense spending because I believe the world has become more unstable.
