One notable fact came to the front recently. Washington and London demonstrate their mutual interest in buildup of cooperation in Asia-Pacific Region (APR) in a wide range of aspects. In mid-March the White House press service stated that on 7-8 of March the United Kingdom and United States held high-level consultations on the Indo-Pacific Region (IPR). The exact place and format of the meeting was not mentioned. The US delegation included the Indo-Pacific Coordinator at the National Security Council Kurt Campbell and representatives of the Department of State and Pentagon. The UK delegation was led by Deputy National Security Advisor David Quarrey. A joint statement was released following the meeting. It was announced that London and Washington will create a conversation mechanism on issues of the IPR. Representors from the National Security Council and Ministries of Foreign Affairs will sit in it. The primary objective will be to coordinate implementation of the US Indo-Pacific Strategy and the UK’s Indo-Pacific tilt, as set out in its Integrated Review. In the joint statement Washington, London and European partners vowed to enhance their engagement with the region and to prepare to meet the challenges of systematic cooperation with China. They reaffirmed the importance of the maintenance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait; discussed Hong Kong; expressed the support of the centrality of ASEAN and the will to advance cooperation with India, countries of the South Pacific Ocean and ASEAN itself. They also noted some progress made on AUKUS and for once again reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring the delivery of conventionally-armed nuclear-powered submarines to Canberra to promote stability in the region. As for economic cooperation, participants focused attention on cooperation in APR through supporting “green” transitions as part of the Clean Green Initiative and Build Back Better World agendas. They emphasized the importance of collaboration on emerging technologies and opposing any economic coercion (under which is surely meant China); and, finally, expressed their discontent with Beijing’s behavior, especially in regards to Australia.
Surely such consultations are just a part of Washington’s effort to push military and financial potential of its European partners to follow American policies. It is worth to be mentioned that lately the US Administration significantly extended political contacts on different levels with the UK and EU to seal western presence in APR, firstly, in matters of security.