2025 Indo-Pacific Conference: Minister Malhotra keynote speech
UK Minister for the Indo-Pacific Seema Malhotra delivered a keynote speech at the 2025 Indo-Pacific Conference hosted by King's College London.
Thank you, Professor Kapur.
And also to the High Commissioners of India, Singapore and Australia for bringing us here with King’s College today.
And a particular thank you to Your Excellency Stephen Smith. With your posting coming to an end, we are grateful to you for your huge contribution and indeed your thought leadership on the Indo-Pacific. And thank you to you all for joining today.
Before I begin I want to acknowledge what I know will be on many of our minds – the deadly storms that have caused horrific devastation across the region – particularly Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and also Vietnam and India. We have been talking to our partners over recent days about what support may be needed and closely monitoring the situation. I know our thoughts will be with all those affected.
Now much has changed since the first Indo-Pacific Forum in 2023. The world has become increasingly fragmented, and the Indo-Pacific stands at the coalface. So, this year’s theme, rethinking cooperation, couldn’t be more timely.
Against a backdrop of uncertainty and fragmentation, leaders in the Indo-Pacific and the Euro-Atlantic must come together to forge new partnerships and strengthen our ties.
To support that, I want to share three reflections: why the Indo-Pacific matters to the UK, what we’ve achieved together, and why we must build on these foundations for the future.
Why the Indo-Pacific matters
As I speak first on why it matters to us, let me just say a few words about the context for where we are. I’m proud that since Labour came into power, that our focus in Government has been stability for growth.
And alongside this, rebuilding trust and relationships with nations – in the EU and across the world, recognising the importance in today’s world of being an outward facing nation.
Because partnerships are the bedrock for security and prosperity.
It is only together that we can stand up for the rule of law, for rules-based trade, for fundamental freedoms, to shape a more open global economy.
This is why the relationship between the Indo Pacific region and the UK matters. It is a region of growing political and economic power and one of two regions, beyond the Euro-Atlantic, that we set out as a priority in our National Security Strategy.
We know that by 2050, more than half of global growth will come from the Indo-Pacific. You can already see progress in tech start-ups transforming healthcare with AI diagnostics, governments digitising public services to reach millions, and industries shaping solutions for climate adaptation.
But there are geopolitical and geoeconomic forces that pose significant challenges. As you know all too well, we’re entering a new era of growing great power competition.
That means greater competition and more volatility, making it more important than ever to strengthen international law and the rules-based system that keeps us all secure.
There will be challenges, not least in the field of security. NATO and European security remain critically important, but our priorities and responsibilities do not end with NATO.
The Euro-Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific security contexts are indivisible.
Take Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, which caused food bills in Europe and Asia to skyrocket.
Or take maritime security - because rising tensions in the South China Sea threaten global trade and stability, with as much as a third of global maritime trade passing through this route. We cannot risk that - if the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea is undermined anywhere, it is undermined everywhere.
And take the challenge of climate change, because how we work together will determine whether we succeed on our goals.
And we cannot succeed as a global community without our partners in the Indo-Pacific, home to some of the most climate-vulnerable nations in the world.
That’s why the UK maintains an enduring commitment to a Free and Open Indo-Pacific.
Because it’s together that we can tackle regional challenges and global issues, whether through close bilateral ties, through defence and security partnerships like AUKUS and Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) with Japan and Italy, through plurilateral agreements like CPTPP, or alongside regional institutions such as ASEAN, which has been at the heart of peace and prosperity for over fifty years. Our approach must be to achieve shared prosperity through shared security.
Nowhere is this clearer than our approach towards China.
Because how we engage today will shape our security, prosperity and influence for decades to come.
That’s why the UK will take a consistent, long-term and strategic approach to managing our relationship with China.
It is an approach rooted firmly in our global interests. Strong on security, and strong on the economy too.
Since coming into power, we’ve re-established high-level dialogue – from the Prime Minister’s meeting with President Xi at the G20, to relaunching climate cooperation, trade talks and science partnerships.
But we know that national security is the first duty of any government.
So where we need to challenge China, we will do so - confidently and transparently.
And where we need to cooperate with China we will do so, such as in global health and climate change.
Investing in partnerships
That brings me to my second point – how we have invested in our partnerships over the past twelve months to build stability, security and prosperity for the benefit of the people in our countries.
Let me start with India where I visited most recently.
My visit last week, a month after the Prime Minister, recognised the growing ambition –for collaboration following the success of the recently signed free trade agreement, which is set to boost bilateral trade by over £25bn.
I heard from British companies excited to seize the opportunities - including businesses already thriving in India like Tesco, Revolut, BT and Marks and Spencer. And Indian businesses alike looking for new opportunities.
More broadly, the UK and India’s shared ‘Vision 2035’ is our commitment to face the future together, strengthening collaboration on our shared priorities. And that spirit of partnership and ambition for each other’s future is a thread that connects us across the region.
On my first overseas visit as Minister, I travelled to Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei.
I saw first-hand how our deep partnerships with the Royal Brunei, Singapore, and Malaysian Armed Forces, and our permanent naval presence through HMS SPEY and HMS TAMAR, stand ready to support partners and respond to a range of crises across the region.
This year we’ve strengthened those ties with visits to the British Forces Brunei Garrison by His Majesty The Sultan, the Singapore Navy’s RSS Formidable docking in London, HMS Prince of Wales docking in Singapore as part of the multinational Carrier Strike Group deployment, and joint exercising with our Five Power Defence Arrangements partners.
While in Singapore celebrating 60 years of our relations, I saw our Strategic Partnership coming to life through engagements with government, business, thinkers and young people.
With Minister Gan we spoke about Singapore becoming Chair of ASEAN in 2027, the year the UK will host the G20.
ASEAN is set to be the world’s fourth largest economy by 2030.
And during my visit to Malaysia, I opened the first UK-ASEAN AI Innovation Summit.
Under Malaysia’s Chairship, ASEAN has articulated an ambitious agenda that places digital innovation and artificial intelligence at the forefront of the region’s growth strategy.
And back here in the UK, I welcomed the first cohort of ASEAN Chevening Scholars and met with the ASEAN London Committee, reaffirming our commitment to education and dialogue at every level, and the importance of people to people ties that will keep us connected for generations to come.
In October we also elevated our bilateral relationship with Vietnam to a comprehensive strategic partnership.
This milestone strengthens six key pillars of cooperation, from migration to clean energy transition, ensuring our partnership delivers real impact across the region.
I’m proud that next year marks five years since the UK became an ASEAN Dialogue Partner – and that I was able to join with the ASEAN London Committee and guests in marking Timor-Leste’s accession recently.
The UK’s dialogue partnership with ASEAN continues to go from strength to strength: with UK-ASEAN trade surpassing £50 billion, an increase of nearly 10% over the past year alone; our strong support for ASEAN centrality, key to protecting a prosperous, stable, free and open Indo-Pacific; and last year, the UK was the region’s top European foreign direct investor.
Next year, the UK will work alongside our private sector to strengthen cooperation on initiatives ranging from the ASEAN Power Grid to the implementation of the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement.
We will also continue to champion the creative economy - a priority sector for ASEAN and the UK - while deepening ties between our people through programmes such as the ASEAN Chevening Scholarship. Young people, skills and education are the bedrock of the health and future success of all of our relationships.
And we will negotiate the next UK–ASEAN Plan of Action, setting the framework for our cooperation through to 2030.
Let me also say a few words about Japan following last week’s visit of the Keidanren for the first time in ten years, with a focus on trade and investment for the future - another example of that ambition, with a partnership that continues to go from strength to strength.
In March, we held the inaugural dialogue between our Economic and Foreign Ministers to support growth and resilience. We have also signed new economic security and industrial partnerships.
This summer, when the UK’s Carrier Strike Group also visited Tokyo, it was a clear demonstration of our commitment to a Free and Open Indo-Pacific, while F-15 fighters from Japan came to the UK for the first time as part of the Atlantic Eagles deployment.
Today, trade and foreign policy go hand in hand. And collaborating in new ways matters.
With the indivisibility of the Euro-Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific we’ve also stepped up our coordination with France, Germany and the EU in the region – including joint maritime security efforts with France in the Indian Ocean.
We’re getting on and delivering AUKUS, which is supporting security and stability in both regions.
That commitment was clear at UNGA, where the Foreign Secretary sat down with counterparts from both regions to show that unity matters in a fragmented world and to push forward on the big issues we all share, like keeping our seas safe, tackling hybrid threats, strengthening economic security and fighting climate change.
Building on strong foundations
And that brings me to my third and final theme – how and why as we re-think cooperation in a fragmented world, we build on these strong foundations going forward.
It’s something that is integral to my work across the region.
And indeed, in my short visit to the Maldives from where I returned on Tuesday, I held a dinner with senior Maldivian representatives along with representatives from India, Australia, the US and Japan based there. We shared insights and perspectives, and there is absolutely no doubt in my mind about the commitment to investing in our shared prosperity and security and the importance of how we rethink the respective strengths we can bring and how we combine those strengths in our shared interest.
It was a useful opportunity to also reflect on conversations with our Australian and New Zealand counterparts – some of my very first conversations in my role. I am grateful for those, and the perspectives that they particularly shared about small island developing states.
Central to those conversations is how we can work in partnership with Pacific Island Countries to support their priorities. Our partnerships – both bilateral and through Pacific institutions like the Pacific Islands Forum – give us the platform to work together on the big challenges like tackling climate change, countering cyber threats, and building economic resilience and growth.
Our Global Strategic Partnership with the Republic of Korea is important for both nations from growth and defence to AI and the energy transition, with work on an enhanced Free Trade Agreement set to deepen ties between Korean and British businesses.
And we’re strengthening relationships between industry, parliamentarians and academics through our High-Level Forum.
Having acceded to CPTPP last December, we support its continued growth, including potential accession discussions with partners like Indonesia and the Philippines.
Last November, the UK and Indonesia agreed to establish a new strategic partnership spanning trade, green growth and innovation, security and other shared interests.
In line with that vision, the Prime Minister and President Prabowo announced last week a new Maritime Partnership Programme, reinvigorating defence collaboration and supporting Indonesia’s fishing industry and coastal communities. I look forward to the concrete steps we will take together as we finalise this agreement.
Conclusion
So let me conclude by reaffirming the UK’s commitment to the Indo-Pacific.
This region matters – for our growth, for our security, for the climate – and we’re determined to build a reputation as a trusted partner for the long haul.
Because for us, this isn’t about short-term headlines. It’s a generational mission, a long-term strategic posture that will shape the decades ahead.
Rethinking co-operation is a matter for all of us, not just to how we survive in a fragmented world, but how we work towards a less fragmented and more secure world of the future.
I look forward to our discussion now, and to working together on shared challenges and also the important opportunities we must seize that lie ahead.
Thank you.