UK backs India's bid for permanent membership of UN Security Council

London: British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on Friday supported India's quest for permanent membership of the UN Security Council as he called for its expansion to include India for a more "realistic" re-alignment of the world order.

Delivering his first major foreign policy speech at the Royal Institute of International Affairs at Chatham House in London entitled 'Beyond Brexit: A Global Britain', the senior minister in Prime Minister Theresa May's Cabinet also said as Britain leaves the European Union (EU), it would look to engage deeply with Asia.

"We should be realistic enough to accept that the international order needs to change. That is why Britain supports enlarging the permanent membership of the (UN) Security Council to other global powers, including India," Johnson said.

"It is right that we should make a distinctive approach to policy-making as regards China and East Asia. Our approach in that region must go beyond the quest for exports and commercial contracts, vital though they are.

"The emerging balance of power system in Asia needs the influence of friendly countries, with our emphasis on the rules-based system, in order to reduce the risk of miscalculation and unwanted confrontation," he said.

India has long been seeking a permanent place in the UN Security Council to reflect its importance as a trillion dollar economy and a major South Asian power.

Johnson also used the speech to throw his weight behind US President-elect Donald Trump's campaign to get NATO countries to spend more on defence.

"Trump has a point. It cannot be justified that one NATO ally, America, accounts for about 70 per cent of the alliance's defence spending while the other 27 countries manage only 30 per cent between them.

"I want every NATO member to meet the agreed target of spending two per cent of GDP on defence and 20 per cent of their defence budget on new equipment. Britain already abides by this target and I note that NATO's most exposed members including Estonia and Poland do so as well," he said.

The Foreign Minister also laid out a post-Brexit scenario where Britain would not oppose attempts by the EU to form a common defence policy.

"You know, if they want to do that, fine. Obviously they should also spend two per cent of their GDP on defence, it might be the first thing to get right, but we are not there to block or to impede further steps towards EU integration if that is what they so desire," he said.

But he also stressed that strong defence did not preclude negotiations and that he believed pressure could be exerted on Russia amid tensions with Nato over Crimea and the bombing campaign in Syria.

"We cannot normalise relations with Russia or go back to business as usual. But as I have said time and again, Russia could win the acclaim of the world by halting its bombing campaign of Syria, delivering Assad to peace talks, abiding by the letter of the Minsk agreements in Ukraine," Johnson added.