Foreign Minister Liz Truss told the NATO summit that the invasion of Taiwan would be a “catastrophic miscalculation” by China, arguing that the UK and other countries should reconsider their trade relations with countries that used their economic power in a “forced” way. Speaking at the committee meeting with Anthony Albanese, the Australian Prime Minister, and Alexandre De Cro, the Belgian Prime Minister, Trash said: I think that with China expanding its influence through economic coercion and building a capable army, there is a real risk that they will get the misconception that leads to a catastrophic miscalculation, such as the invasion of Taiwan. With China expanding its strategic ambitions, Tras said, NATO needed to expand its strategic vision – its core mission was last updated in 2010 and was to be renewed at this summit in Madrid – to refer specifically to China. The G7 and countries like Australia should use their “economic burden” to challenge China, he said, adding that countries like the United Kingdom could even reconsider their approach to trade with Beijing. She explained: I do not think we have historically used this economic power. We have an equal distance, if you will, with whom we trade, with whom we work. And I think countries are focusing a lot more now, is this trade with confidence, do we trust this partner? Will they use it to undermine us or will they use it for the mutual benefit of both our economies? Thus trade has become much more geopolitical. Liz Trace arrives for the NATO summit in Madrid. Photo: Paul White / AP
Ben Wallace underestimates defensive talks with Boris Johnson over defense spending
Good morning. Boris Johnson is at the NATO summit in Madrid today and Defense Minister Ben Wallace made the rounds of the morning interview. The Daily Telegraph today comments on a news item that says that Boris Johnson is facing a split in the cabinet regarding defense spending. Says: The Telegraph may reveal that Downing Street intervened to reduce calls for higher defense spending by Ben Wallace in a speech on Tuesday. Mr Wallace, the Secretary of Defense, had to argue that just two percent of GDP spending on defense was outdated. However, the line was removed at the request of Number 10. Downing Street is said to have been “outraged” by what was seen as an attempt to overthrow Mr Johnson in announcing a significant increase in defense spending at this week’s NATO summit. This morning Wallace claimed the story was based on a misunderstanding. Some words were removed from the speech, he admitted. But that was not because the prime minister disagreed with them, but because the prime minister wanted to say it himself, Wallace said. He told Times Radio: There were some words in my speech that were removed because the Prime Minister will say them today. I think the center just wanted to make sure it said it before the Secretary of Defense said it. It is perfectly legitimate. Those were his words. There is nothing conspiratorial about this, I’m afraid. Wallace also reiterated his call for increased defense spending. He told Sky News: In the here and now we are set up correctly. The question is what happens in the middle of the decade. My settlement was made before Russia invaded Ukraine. Russia is very, very dangerous on the world stage. The world is less secure than it was two, three years ago, and it does not seem likely to change for the rest of the decade. This is the time, in the middle of the decade, to say that we must commit to increasing funding. While there is broad agreement in the cabinet that defense spending should increase, opinions seem to differ on what the rise should be and how it should be presented. One issue is defense spending as a percentage of GDP. Another is the Tories manifesto to increase defense spending by at least 0.5% above inflation. In their overnight story, my colleagues Peter Walker and Dan Sabbagh explain what is happening. Here is the agenda of the day. 9 a.m .: Boris Johnson attends the official opening of the NATO Summit in Madrid. The summit will continue throughout the day. 9.30 am: The Committees of Privileges meets privately to begin planning its inquiry into whether Boris Johnson lied to Members of Parliament about Partygate. Harriet Harman is expected to be elected chairman of the committee. 9.45 am: Thérèse Coffey, Secretary of Labor and Pensions, submits to the Committee on Labor and Pensions of the Communities. 10 a.m .: Anne-Marie Trevelyan, Minister of International Trade, briefs the Commons Committee on International Trade on the trade agreement with Australia. 10.30 am: Lisa Nandy, the shadow secretary who rises to the level, gives a speech at the annual conference of the Local Government Association. 12 p.m.: Dominic Raab, Deputy Prime Minister, confronts Angela Rainer, the Deputy Labor leader, at the PMQ. 12.45pm: Sajid Javid, Secretary of Health, gives a talk on the thinktank Policy Exchange on digital transformation in healthcare. 2.15 pm: George Eustice, Secretary of the Environment, briefs the Commons Environmental Committee. I try to watch the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have an immediate question, include “Andrew” somewhere and I am more likely to find it. I try to answer questions and if it is of general interest, I will post the question and answer over the line (ATL), although I can not promise to do it for everyone. If you want to get my attention quickly, it’s probably best to use Twitter. I’m on @AndrewSparrow. Alternatively, you can email me at [email protected] Boris Johnson speaking to reporters during yesterday’s flight from Germany to Madrid, where he is currently attending the NATO summit. Photo: Getty Images Updated at 09.42 BST
