| Summary/Abstract |
The 2021 Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy signified a major change in United Kingdom’s defence thinking because it identified China as the foremost threat to its long-term security interests. The resulting tilt to the Indo-Pacific region resurrected the prospect of a defence role that the UK had relinquished in the 1960s. Yet the UK can ill-afford to become a significant defence actor in the Indo-Pacific area. The optimal role for the UK is instead to encourage actors in the region to take the lead in countering China. The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has reinforced the logic that the UK should concentrate its strength on bolstering the deterrent power of NATO within the Euro-Atlantic area.
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