World economic axis tilting towards Indo-Pacific: Johnson

London: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday zeroed in on UK's focus on enhancing relations with friendly countries" in the Indo-Pacific, as he declared that the world was tilting on its economic axis towards the region.

In his flagship speech at the ruling Conservative Party annual conference in Manchester, Johnson pointed to the recently signed AUKUS security agreement between Australia, the UK and the US as a sign of this enhanced focus on the region.

He reiterated his central message of creating a global Britain, with greater freedom to define the country's post-Brexit foreign policy as a result of leaving the European Union under his leadership.

If you want a supreme example of global Britain in action, of something daring and brilliant that would simply not have happened if we had remained in the EU (European Union), I give you AUKUS, said the 57-year-old Prime Minister, to applause from his Cabinet ministers and thousands of Tory party

delegates.

I know that there has been a certain raucous squaukus from the anti-AUKUS caucus, but AUKUS is simply a recognition of the reality that the world is tilting on its economic axis and our trade and relations with the Indo-Pacific region are becoming ever more vital than ever before, he said.

The alliance widely seen as an effort to counter China's influence in the contested South China Sea was announced by US President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Johnson and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison last month.

That is why we have sent the amazing Carrier Strike Group to the Far East, which has been performing manoeuvres with 40 friendly countries with HMS Queen Elizabeth, as long as the entire palace of Westminster and rather more compelling as an argument than many speeches made in the House of Commons, Johnson noted.

The UK's Carrier Strike Group has performed joint maritime exercises with the Indian Navy and will return for another operation later this month.

Johnson's speech, which marks the conclusion of the four-day party conference, set out his vision for the Conservative government in the coming year and he used it to highlight the successes of the party to its wider membership.

He pointed to the country's COVID-19 vaccination programme, which he said had been delivered at incredible speed and enabled the reopening of the economy faster than many other countries.