Rishi Sunak, one of the frontrunners to succeed Boris Johnson as PM, on Sunday, promised to get tough on China if he is elected. Sunak called the Asian superpower a “number one threat” to domestic and global security.
Sunak's rival and former foreign minister Liz Truss had accused him of being weak on Russia and China.
China's state-run Global Times has previously said Sunak was the only candidate in the contest with "a clear and pragmatic view on developing UK-China ties”. Sunak also said that he will consider forming a NATO-style international cooperation to tackle Chinese threats in cyberspace and will look into banning Chinese acquisitions of key British assets.
Sunak said that besides supporting Putin by buying Russian oil and bullying its neighbours including Taiwan, China was stealing UK’s technology and infiltrating its universities.
On China's violation of human rights Sunak said, they detain and indoctrinate their own people, including in Xinjiang and Hong Kong.
Sunak on Sunday focused on the sensitive issue of immigration by promising a "healthy dose of common sense" approach. Writing in ‘The Daily Telegraph’, he also promised to curb the power of the European Court of Human Rights, withhold aid money if countries refuse to take back failed asylum seekers and criminals, and use cruise ships to house illegal migrants. Reviving his Brexit credentials as someone who campaigned for Britain to leave the European Union in the 2016 referendum, Sunak pointed out that immigration and a desire to control Britain’s borders were one of the factors that motivated him toward that decision. "As my own family experienced when they came to this country over 60 years ago, Britain is a generous, ambitious and compassionate country and that is something to be proud of," he wrote.
On the controversial policy of deporting some illegal migrants to Rwanda, he declared that the UK cannot "waste large sums of taxpayers’ money" on the policy only to fall at the first legal hurdle. "I will make the policy work and will do whatever it takes to implement it and pursue additional similar partnerships," he declared. Truss also geared her campaign focus towards immigration on Sunday as she also pledged to ensure the scheme to deport some illegal migrants to Rwanda is fully implemented.
– with PTI inputs
