Foreign diplomacy is the field of politics that dominates any government’s major decisions. Through effective foreign policy a country can improve their standing and effectiveness in international affairs Historical foreign policy has always been the same–and despite not wanting to enter the Great War in 1914, Britain’s foreign policy was the mistake that led them into becoming deeply entrenched in the First World War. This policy included over-extensive foreign intervention, militarism, and brinksmanship diplomacy. These same mistakes are being made by the United States in the current South China Sea dispute, and may have similarly disastrous consequences.
Rampant foreign interventionism was Britain’s first mistake on their road to involvement …show more content…
This is evident in the Seymour and Gaselee Expeditions in June and August 1900. These expeditions were military incursions into Beijing with the plan to halt Boxer violence against Westerners in China; both led and managed by British leadership. However, a year after the boxers had been defeated with massive military force, the nations of the coalition still occupied Beijing– with Germany and Britain occupying the largest districts of the city. Their actions in China were intended as a measure to protect their interests, but it soon grew punitive and out-of-control. The same mistake is in it’s formative stages in the U.S. involvement in South China Sea disputes. By involving themselves in the growing conflict there, they are starting down the same path that Britain did– overextending their military bounds. The U.S. claims the right to defy and challenge China’s extensive claims in the South China Sea, desiring to protect their rights under the U.N’s Law of The Sea (LOS) Convention. They have been conducting this challenge directly– most recently by flying B-52 Bombers over Chinese Spratly Island bases and sailing the U.S.S. Lassen within 12 nautical miles of the same base. …show more content…
During this time, displays of military power were regular and encouraged international opinion; However, Britain and Germany took it a step further as they rushed for naval superiority in what became known as the Anglo-British arms race. This extensive naval spending supplied them with a highly superior navy by the time war officials broke; the largest ship displaced nearly 30,000 tons, as opposed to under 20,000 less than twenty years before. By 1914, The Royal Navy displaced a total of over 2,000,000 tons. This rapid development– especially since these new dreadnought-class ships carried more powerful weapons than ever– suggests that Britain was expending much of it’s budget on military efforts even before war was upon them. Germany intended to end the race and even accept British naval superiority if the British stayed neutral; however, the British rejected this proposal. If they hadn’t, they may have saved thousands of British lives in the rapidly encroaching war. Ever since the 2001 terror attacks, the United States Military has been following a similar trend as to the Royal Navy before the Great War. In a modern world of expansive, global economies, this military spending is easier to see. It is evident in the USD 7,110,000,000 that is expended on the military– more than the next eight countries combined. That list includes
Rampant foreign interventionism was Britain’s first mistake on their road to involvement …show more content…
This is evident in the Seymour and Gaselee Expeditions in June and August 1900. These expeditions were military incursions into Beijing with the plan to halt Boxer violence against Westerners in China; both led and managed by British leadership. However, a year after the boxers had been defeated with massive military force, the nations of the coalition still occupied Beijing– with Germany and Britain occupying the largest districts of the city. Their actions in China were intended as a measure to protect their interests, but it soon grew punitive and out-of-control. The same mistake is in it’s formative stages in the U.S. involvement in South China Sea disputes. By involving themselves in the growing conflict there, they are starting down the same path that Britain did– overextending their military bounds. The U.S. claims the right to defy and challenge China’s extensive claims in the South China Sea, desiring to protect their rights under the U.N’s Law of The Sea (LOS) Convention. They have been conducting this challenge directly– most recently by flying B-52 Bombers over Chinese Spratly Island bases and sailing the U.S.S. Lassen within 12 nautical miles of the same base. …show more content…
During this time, displays of military power were regular and encouraged international opinion; However, Britain and Germany took it a step further as they rushed for naval superiority in what became known as the Anglo-British arms race. This extensive naval spending supplied them with a highly superior navy by the time war officials broke; the largest ship displaced nearly 30,000 tons, as opposed to under 20,000 less than twenty years before. By 1914, The Royal Navy displaced a total of over 2,000,000 tons. This rapid development– especially since these new dreadnought-class ships carried more powerful weapons than ever– suggests that Britain was expending much of it’s budget on military efforts even before war was upon them. Germany intended to end the race and even accept British naval superiority if the British stayed neutral; however, the British rejected this proposal. If they hadn’t, they may have saved thousands of British lives in the rapidly encroaching war. Ever since the 2001 terror attacks, the United States Military has been following a similar trend as to the Royal Navy before the Great War. In a modern world of expansive, global economies, this military spending is easier to see. It is evident in the USD 7,110,000,000 that is expended on the military– more than the next eight countries combined. That list includes