Sophia Gaston
@sophgaston
Followers
13K
Following
8K
Media
2K
Statuses
7K
UK Foreign Policy. Research Fellow @CSNS_UK & Senior Advisor @TheAsiaGroup | Euro-Atlantic & Indo-Pacific security, China, Russia, AUKUS | [email protected]
London, UK
Joined May 2014
Press conferences like this are vital for educating the public about the seriousness of the security landscape, and the immediacy and proximity of threats. But they also compel the question as to what hard choice sin the budget are being made to meet the scale of that challenge.
🚨 WATCH: Defence Secretary John Healey says a Russian spy ship entered the UK's "wider waters" in the last few weeks near Scotland and directed lasers at British pilots "My message to Putin is this.... If the Yantar travels South this week we are ready"
0
7
17
Kallas: EU’s economic ties to China constrain its ability to pressure Beijing over Russia’s war in Ukraine. The test for all entanglement with China must be: are we willing/able to bear disruption to this in order to exercise our geopolitical sovereignty? https://t.co/KCEikKWY2F
bloomberg.com
The European Union’s deep economic ties to China are constraining its ability to pressure Beijing over Russia’s war in Ukraine, the bloc’s top diplomat said.
0
0
1
Great to see the Defence Secretary announce new defence sites and speaking frankly on threats. But in the spectre of the budget, until HMG is willing to make major domestic spending reforms to fund the defence endeavour, this is tinkering around the edges. https://t.co/RjXIjXCUQs
telegraph.co.uk
Homeland protection is moving at glacial pace despite renewed threats, report finds
0
1
4
I really wish this situation and why this decision was taken vis-à-vis TikTok, could be understood in London and other European capitals.
Enormous respect for @RobertDoar and @AEI. Grateful for AEI’s integrity and leadership in standing up to CCP malign influence.
0
0
1
It’s clear from conversations in Parliament in recent weeks that anxieties are running high after the espionage case collapse. HMG will have to start speaking to Parliament more about the substance of China threats, and will face a more engaged and interrogative audience.
MI5 has taken the unusual step of sending MPs and peers this cut-out and keep guide to how to avoid being targeted by Chinese spies It says that the Chinese Ministry of State Security is offering 'large financial incentives for seemingly low-level information' just to build
0
0
2
Several years ago I did a study on how HMG could better harness the British diaspora for its strategic goals, as other nations do. The primary obstacle was that the Government essentially had no idea how many people left, where they went, and why.
So net emigration of British people is about 180,000 a year higher than ONS previously reported. ONS say there is a "similar trend" in the new data to the old but 650,000 people over four years is ... quite a big difference. HT @CharliePCole98
0
2
5
I will never understand this dogged epistemological challenge to perceptions of increased London crime. London has low levels of homicide. But the violating crimes to which most people are exposed (ie. phone theft) are rampant. Why de-legitimise other crime victims' perceptions?
Lawless London latest
10
26
371
I'll be giving evidence to the Joint Committee on National Security Strategy's inquiry tomorrow, focusing on Britain's sovereign capabilities and asymmetrical strengths, including our technology and defence industries, AUKUS, and UK-US relations. https://t.co/R6hzoXDQpe
committees.parliament.uk
16:00 - Room 4A, Palace of Westminster
0
1
7
While our major industries are crippled by conventional cyber breaches, Chinese state-sponsored hackers are harnessing AI to pursue espionage with unprecedented scale and sophistication. We are barely grappling with yesterday’s world and now the game is about to switch.
We disrupted a highly sophisticated AI-led espionage campaign. The attack targeted large tech companies, financial institutions, chemical manufacturing companies, and government agencies. We assess with high confidence that the threat actor was a Chinese state-sponsored group.
1
1
8
We’re in the gravest security context in generations, so yes the Prime Minister specifically needs to travel more. This must be explained to the party and the public. At the same time, galvanise the system at home, set a clear mission, and empower domestic ministers.
Great piece from @MaxKendix @daisyeastlake Sir Keir Starmer has spent *a sixth* of his Premiership abroad - more than any other PM on record - and completed six laps of the earth in the process The prime minister has travelled more and further than any other British leader in
0
1
5
We all know which country is impeding British cooperation. When will they be held accountable? We must deal with the world as it is. Whether Brexit was right or wrong is irrelevant now. The question is: do you want a viable European industrial base or not? https://t.co/DeVgr3pFp9
bloomberg.com
The UK government rejected a request by the European Commission for as much as €6.75 billion ($7.8 billion) to join its flagship defense fund, a blow to post-Brexit relations under Prime Minister...
1
4
23
A disaster. The government must make serious demands of vital national industries in terms of expectations about their cybersecurity infrastructure.
👀Just look at the economic impact of the cyberattack and shutdown at Jaguar Land Rover👇 Output from the entire UK motor industry contracted by 28.6% in September, according to the ONS. Save for the pandemic that's the biggest monthly fall on record...
1
2
6
It’s valuable for intelligence expertise, like in-depth country knowledge, to inform China decision-making. But the ultimate choice must be made at a geo-strategic level. The exchange here is imbalanced in terms of vital interests, and it’s concerning that it cannot be perceived.
Exclusive: Ex-MI6 chief Richard Moore says China “should get their embassy” in London “I’m sure there has to be a way through where they get an appropriate embassy and we are allowed to retain and develop our own excellent embassy in Beijing,” he says in a Bloomberg interview
4
2
4
The bean counters in Western governments will continue to make all the wrong decisions until they recognise that the actual medium- and long-term costs of pursuing the Chinese option are ultimately higher.
Quite the anecdote from the FT piece: “A Munich-based compressor maker has two offers for a new wire-processing machine. A quote from a Swiss-based European company stands at €130k, compared with one from a firm based in China’s Zhejiang province for less than €28k”
0
0
2
Macron will think this is a 4D chess move, but it will achieve nothing for the West and afford Xi another PR victory in establishing China as a global leader.
Macron is thinking of inviting Xi Jinping to next year's G7 in France and has floated the idea with members "Berlin is broadly supportive of the idea" Can't imagine Trump being opposed... https://t.co/ZKf50KfdZT
0
2
6
WASPI was successful because it sounds initially worthy in passing. The end of the 'good times' of economic growth and relative peace means HMG can't afford vibe-based generosity and must speak to the public about trade-offs and the complexity of choices. The sooner the better.
There has never been a more undeserving, illegitimate, yet successful case for compensation than WASPI. So much so, they managed to persuade actual MPs to pledge to give them £58 billion of taxpayer money back in 2019… This dependency culture of expecting endless payouts for
1
3
14
The problem is that yes people want a strong welfare state, but the Government’s primary objectives must be to deliver security and prosperity, and this situation makes it near-impossible to deliver either. “Growth” or “security” with so many carve-outs simply isn’t viable.
More than 4million Universal Credit claimants now have no requirement to work - that's predominantly people who are sick along with students and those with caring responsibilities The rise is extraordinary - it's gone up from from 2.896million in October 2024 to 4.027million in
0
0
4
Our highly individuated societies have allowed people to mistake their own failures to navigate systems for system failure, and to extrapolate one personal experience as indications of national crisis.
Today, I made the mistake of flying from Dublin to Paris via London's Heathrow Airport. This was a remarkably stupid move on my part, given that London, and by extension Heathrow, is located in the failing formerly-developed country known as "the UK". I almost paid dearly for
2
0
14
Anyone who has done work on the ground in fragile democracies understands the value of an institution like the BBC and its capacity to create a shared reality and national community. This situation should spark a renewal of the BBC's approach, not the erosion of its vital role.
The BBC is a HUGE asset to the UK. Yes, it would benefit from more viewpoint diversity (like every other cultural institution) but I utterly disagree with those who wish to destroy it. Remember the words of the great Joni Mitchell: “You Don't Know What You Got Till It's Gone”
3
2
13
Jay Weatherill, former Premier of South Australia, has been appointed the new Australian High Commissioner to London. SA is of course playing an big role in the AUKUS pact. The Pentagon's AUKUS review delivers in early December, and he begins in January. https://t.co/uer5hfIJMp
abc.net.au
Australia's next high commissioner to the United Kingdom's time in politics was defined by consultative leadership, pizza politics and a gatecrashed press conference.
0
0
3