Former British PM Liz Truss calls for tougher China policy in first speech since quitting

Tokyo: Former British prime minister Liz Truss on Friday called for Taiwan to be given more arms and for the Group of Seven (G7) nations to agree to a coordinated package of sanctions against China, in the event of an escalation of military tensions around the island.

In her first speech since she was forced out of the premier’s office last year, Truss told a conference in Japan designed to coordinate the policies of democratic governments towards China that the West should take a tougher approach to the world’s second largest economy.

Truss is of the opinion that there are people who argue that “the rise of a totalitarian China” is inevitable and “standing up to this regime is a hopeless task” but she rejects this “fatalism”.

“The free world has a significant role to play in whether or not that happens – and how it happens,” according to extracts from her speech.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is facing pressure from some within his party to re-classify China as a “threat” instead of a “systemic competitor” in an update to the government’s defence and foreign policy strategy, which is expected to be published early next month.

Sunak last year called for “robust pragmatism” with China and emphasised the need to engage with Beijing, prompting immediate concern from some within his party that he will adopt a softer approach to relations with the Asian giant than his predecessor.

Truss is due to appear at the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China conference in Tokyo alongside two other former prime ministers, Australia’s Scott Morrison and Belgium’s Guy Verhofstadt.

She is also expected to call for a number of policies towards China including granting Taiwan full diplomatic status, ensuring the island has enough weapons to defend itself.

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