In Canada and Australia, CANZUK promoters are working hard to get Britain to join the grouping. That will mean CANZUK will get official status.

CANZUK is an idea of a grouping between Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. MPs in the UK from all sides of the political spectrum are looking at the idea, and some raised the issue in the Parliament.

On the other hand, the politicians from the other CANZUK nations are also debating the proposal.

While there are no official statements from the four countries on the status of the grouping, CANZUK seems to be the logical step in the UK’s global reach.

AFTER BREXIT

According to Professor Yeah Kim Leng, Director, Economic Studies Programme at Jeffrey Cheah Institute on Southeast Asia in Malaysia, a ‘hard’ Brexit has been averted, and this has, “tempered one of the major risks threatening the global economy,”

“While there some teething operational issues confronting economic and political relations between the UK and EU could exist.

“The longer-term economic and market restructuring implications will be closely watched under the newly forged an agreement with the EU,” says Yeah.

What he means is the UK has sealed a deal with the former economic and political members in the European Union.

To us, that is a sign the UK has a few choices now that it has made fresh moves in the global world.

To forward its agenda of becoming a stronger nation globally the UK has to deploy a new strategy.

Based on the Think Tank and agencies that are promoting CANZUK, we believe the member countries of the quartet expect Britain to lead the grouping.

Not only Britain has the largest population base, but it was also the former colonial masters of Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

It has both the economic and military capacity to grow on a global scale, and it is still the center of the free world outside the United States. But let us compare the UK with the other CANZUK players.

The UK, leading trading power and an international financial center remains the second-largest economy in Europe.

Canada is a high-tech industrial society with a trillion-dollar value, and it resembles the US in many things.

The UK has a Gross Domestic Product of $2.83 trillion and is ranked 7th, or it is 34% bigger than Canada’s ($1.736 trillion — Ranked 12th).

The UK has a bigger Gross National Income ($1.48 trillion) which is Ranked 4th in the world and is 2 times more than Canada ($682.00 billion) which is ranked 8th.

Australia has a GDP of $1.397 trillion and a Gross National Income of $1.313 trillion. New Zealand is the smallest economy in the grouping. It has a GDP of $210 billion and a Gross National Income of $292 billion.

But why should the UK lead CANZUK? There will always be a leading nation in a grouping, and the other countries do not have such global ambitions as the UK.

If any other countries want to lead the grouping, there will be little doubt the UK would not want to join such a grouping. It just slammed the doors on the EU where it was not the leading nation.

Britain has a long and rich history of leadership, and it should be able to decide on the future of the 136 million people in the grouping.

After acknowledging CANZUK and taking the lead, The UK will negotiate with the rest of the world in a stronger position.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Professor Yeah says out of the EU, the UK is now free to embark on furthering trade and economic ties with other nations.

“Partly to offset any potential loss of trade and investment opportunities under the EU bloc

“And partly to achieve its independent economic superpower ambition,” he says, adding that “It is likely to pivot its economic relations to ex-colonies in Commonwealth countries.”

He believes Malaysia and Singapore will benefit from being members of the Commonwealth through a deepening of ties through increased trade and investment,” he says.

While the UK will leverage the advantages offered by each country, both as a market and a regional center, it will also tap into the economic dynamism of the ASEAN Economic Community in dealing with Malaysia or Singapore.

USA OR NOT?

Nevertheless, while it appears the world is going to benefit from an independent Britain with the CANZUK; we have to look at a new era in the UK-US relationship

That is if the UK is to lead CANZUK and if the grouping looks forward to forming an alliance with the US or get the US on board with the idea, this will make the UK and CANZUK stronger.

While it will depend on the new American government under President Joe Biden, it is certain the UK and CANZUK will need the US on their side.

It will not only open up a market of almost 330 million people for Britain, but it will also add value to the CANZUK.

Yet, there might be hurdles. The UK is run by a group of radicals from the Conservative party with a global agenda.

Should this put the US against them in the global expansion, it will mean trouble for the UK on the international stage.

Hence, we believe London has everything to gain if it lays out a different strategy in dealing with the left-leaning-capitalist-backed government in Washington.

In order to get the US on board, the UK will have to iron out all the deals it can with countries from the Commonwealth, China, and possibly the Africa, Caribbean, and Pacific grouping.

THE COMMONWEALTH

The Commonwealth will also have to look towards the new Britain. It should not be a one-sided affair.

There is a tendency among some Commonwealth nations to spin the past humiliation as a colony of Britain to not deal with the UK after Brexit.

There are also countries that are thinking Brexit will mean the death of the former colonial masters, saying it will not survive alone in the globalized world.

But the UK did not plan its Brexit with no thoughts or afterthoughts on what it wants to become after it leaves the EU.

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One reason for leaving the EU is Britain was not in the lead in the union. It had to follow and listen to countries that were defeated in World War II.

The countries that it helped liberate from the shackles of the Nazis are today more powerful, more advanced, and richer than the UK. Thus it went on its own. At least this is one theory of why the UK left the EU.

Therefore, we believe the Commonwealth will gain more in working with Britain on the economic, military, migratory front.

For the Commonwealth, it will be about preserving their rights and independence, and these are fundamentals the UK will surely want to guarantee.

Unlike the imperialists from the US, for example, who would want to impose their views and dismiss those of the people from the Third World, we suppose.

If the UK can guarantee a policy of non-interference in the local affairs of the nations in the Commonwealth, in return, both groups can be in a win-win situation.

The Commonwealth nations stand to gain from a revitalized Britain on the global scene. Employment opportunities in Britain, the migration of skilled workers, open borders, and free trade. The benefits could weigh-in more than anything else.

In dealing with Britain as a potential leader of CANZUK, the possibilities are wider for the Commonwealth and the ACP.

Confronting or allying with China?

China has the lead in Africa, Asia, where it made headway in trade, infrastructure, and maritime deals with its much-touted Bricks and Road Initiative.

London will have to use all its powers to play catch-up with China, and this will eventually lead to massive competition between the two nations on other continents.

But what is the endgame for the UK in face of China’s rise as a superpower?

Will the UK see China as the traditional cheap manufacturing nation where all the products are to be made and exported to the UK?

China is on the verge of becoming an indomitable superpower, and the Chinese do not have the same vision or understanding of the globe as the rest of the world.

For Beijing, it is China that has more rights than others in the South China Sea and along the BRI.

With Britain legging out on the international scene, it will have to face China and even confront it.

The question that is on the lips of most experts is whether Britain will shake hands with China as a partner in crime or will it tackle China as it did 124 years ago in Hong Kong?