Serafin, Kisha Honey G.

August 7, 2019

USSTATE A51 Dr. Renato Cruz De Castro

Defending Security, Prosperity, and Stability through Rules-Based System

Ambassador Daniel Pruce gave a few reflections on the world today on his lecture about

the rules-based system and the point of the simulations of the works that they are doing in the

UK Embassy on human rights and values. On his lecture, he discussed some of the challenges in

today’s world and talked about some of the values and media freedom campaign issues. Also, he

pointed out the challenges in diplomacy today and the highlight of his lecture was about the

rules-based system. On his introduction, he mentioned that he wanted to do a job that will give

him the opportunity to work in other parts of the world in order for him to make a difference in

the world in a positive sense even in a small way such as in people’s security and prosperity, and

most importantly, the stability of the wider world.

According to his speech, the world has changed a lot in the past few years. Then, he

pointed out six strategic challenges that every country is facing in today’s world which the

governments are gradually dealing including his government – the British government – as well

as the Philippine government.

The first challenge that he mentioned is that we are living in the midst of the shift of

global power – a shifting global power from the Atlantic towards the Pacific manifested in many

different ways such as the US and China issues. Secondly, all governments are working on how

to deal with the increasing engagement and activism empowerment by citizens on the big global

issues such as climate change, protecting the oceans, tackling plastics, dealing with pollution,

and protecting wild life. Thirdly, we are living in the world with growing security threats which
are different to how they were when in 1990. The government needs to navigate through a

different landscape of risks that come from Malayan state actors; risks that come from terrorism;

and risks which take virtues towards physical forces. Fourthly, the implications of the fourth

industrial revolution that we are living through, and the impacts of new technology on having the

information that we all connects to -- the information that we can share and produce. The

implications that new technologies have for our own personal data and our own privacy, and

how we can control our own data and how states can protect us as private individuals as well.

Furthermore, new technologies are changing the world of work. Artificial intelligences have

impact to those who are already in the job market. Fifthly, across the globe, our societies are

getting older -- people are living longer. Demographics are shifting across our world. We have

an aging society, and the key problem in UK is the challenges that brings in terms of managing

the increase cost of social welfare, and also the opportunities that provides people to be

economically active for longer, adjusting the market place to ensure the opportunities for all

people to work. Lastly, the political disaffection wherein the citizens are becoming dissolution

with well-established political systems. The shape of the political landscape in many countries is

changing, and that change is also affected by the opportunities of new technologies that social

media provides for political debates takenly much more dynamic and much more active, which

every citizen can spread the perspective around the world.

Things are changing. We are in a highly dynamic situation and time of change such as

this with many uncertainties before our countries and before the global community. The

institutions should observe so well since the end of the second world war which what

Ambassador Pruce described as the rules-based international system. He defined a rules-based

international order as the foundation that most of our modern societies avail to form; gives
international expression to the key principles of democracy and democratic values; and

absolutely a critical framework which enables us to move ahead with the national government

policies with confidence and certainty that we are working within a reliable and predictable

rules-based order.

According to him, in the aftermath of such a devastating war during World War II, the

instinctive reaction throughout much of the globe was to build a new set of laws and cooperative

organizations to reduce the risk of large-scale slaughter again. This is the origin of the rules-

based international order. The UN was the clearest manifestation of worldwide willingness to do

stuff differently – not just between countries themselves, but between countries and their people

as well. He said on his lecture that it is very clear that rules-based international order has made

an enormous contribution by providing people with security, predictability, and protection of

basic rights, and it is critical to understand how important rules-based international system is to

our collected safety. This is what the single most impressive belief in terms of social history that

the world has never seen, and the rules-based system was absolutely fundamental in that.

The government of Great Britain is absolutely committed to maintain a rules-based

international system and has a practical support of principle for it. Ambassador Pruce thinks that

the rules-based system is a bit cannot be perceived; it is something which you need to be

constantly defending, protecting, and actively seeking everyday, otherwise it slips backwards,

and may undermine. This is what drives our foreign policy — to support and strengthen the

rules-based international system so that countries and individuals have the freedom, security, and

prosperity mechanisms.
 Today, Britain seeks to adopt an effective and activist foreign policy, working with other

nations, and enhancing in this rules-based international order support of their principles. They

will use their global diplomatic network to safeguard and promote UK interests around the

world; maintain and create the international impact of Britain in particular fields to form a

distinctive British foreign policy focused on national interest.

The United Kingdom generates deeper ties between their governments, companies, and

individuals. They want to be a partner and friend with outstanding relationships with all the

countries of regions. They will seek to strengthen their relationship as an organization with

ASEAN and will endeavor to further reinforce their relation with countries like the Philippines.

They want to work in collaboration, as elsewhere, to maintain and strengthen rules-based

international system in Asia.

The UK aims to maintain a powerful, close, and honest partnership with the United States

that provides concrete benefits to both parties, and promote British domestic interest through

efficient EU strategy in key fields, participating constructively while preserving domestic

sovereignty. It is working to strengthen the Commonwealth as a focus for supporting democratic

principles, human rights, climate-resilient growth, conflict prevention and trade ; using soft

power as an instrument of UK foreign policy ; supporting British values, including human rights;

and contributing to the well-being of emerging nations and their people. Also, the Philippines

share a common interest with UK in preserving this order especially when it comes to issues on

territorial disputes.

According to the Ambassador Pruce, there are several existing threats to this rules-based

international order. The first thing that he mentioned was the collapse of the INF treaty following
the Russian government’s development of a missile which contradicts in terms of a treaty.

Secondly, the issues on the use of chemical weapons in Syria, Kuala Lumpur, and on the streets

of UK just in the past few years. The third one is concerning the disputed islands in the South

China Sea or the West Philippine Sea between China and Philippines. Lastly is the media

freedom or the preservation of the rights of the media to report freely and without fear in the

situation it sees in the society and in its country and globally.