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UK overhauls post-Brexit asylum system

Age assessment will also be changed to protect children from being wrongly moved into the adult asylum system and stop illegal entrants falsely claiming to be children…reports Asian Lite News.

Britain will overhaul its asylum system to make it a criminal offence to knowingly arrive in the country without permission, the British government announced on Tuesday.

The Nationality and Borders Bill, entering Parliament on Tuesday, tackles the challenge of illegal immigration to make it harder to stay for those who enter Britain illegally, the Xinhua news agency reported.

The post-Brexit move came after the government had already ended freedom of movement of the European Union (EU) citizens after Brexit and introduced a points-based immigration system to welcome talents from around the world.

“For too long, our broken asylum system has lined the pockets of the vile criminal gangs who cheat the system. This isn’t fair to the vulnerable people who need protection or the British public who pay for it. It’s time to act,” Home Secretary Priti Patel said in a statement.

Patel said that this legislation delivered British people’s hope to take full control of its borders and paved the way for a fair but firm system that will break the business model of the gangs that facilitate dangerous and illegal journeys to Britain while speeding up the removal of those with no right to be there.

Other measures include making every effort to remove those who enter the country illegally having travelled through a safe country in which they could and should have claimed asylum, and making it easier to remove someone from Britain to a safe country while their asylum claim is processed.

Britain planned to increase the punishment for people smugglers who facilitate illegal entry to Britain, who will face up to life imprisonment. The bill also aims to give the home secretary power to control visa availability for countries refusing to take back their own citizens.

Age assessment will also be changed to protect children from being wrongly moved into the adult asylum system and stop illegal entrants falsely claiming to be children.

More than 36,000 people, including dependants, applied for asylum in Britain in 2020. About 10,000 people were offered protection in Britain in the form of refugee status or other protections, according to media reports.

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Raab begins S-E Asia trip to boost post-Brexit ties

This is Raab’s fifth visit to South East Asia since becoming Foreign Secretary, demonstrating the growing importance of the Indo-Pacific, as set out in the UK’s Integrated Review…reports Asian Lite News.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has landed in Hanoi on Monday ahead of a three-day visit with high-level meetings in Vietnam, Cambodia and Singapore focussing on trade, defence and security.

The UK will formally launch accession negotiations with Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) nations today, helping Britain further engage with some of the world’s biggest economies. CPTPP members currently have a combined GDP of £9 trillion, a value which is expected to grow rapidly in the next few years.

This is Raab’s fifth visit to South East Asia since becoming Foreign Secretary, demonstrating the growing importance of the Indo-Pacific, as set out in the UK’s Integrated Review.

The visit also comes at a time of growing defence and security cooperation with the region, as the UK’s Carrier Strike Group led by the HMS Queen Elizabeth, makes its maiden visit to the region.

Speaking ahead of the visit, Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, said the UK is committed to strengthening our friendship across the Indo-Pacific.

“We are demonstrating this through our commitment to join CPTPP, partner with ASEAN and invest more energy, time and effort in our bilateral relations in the region,” he said.

While in Vietnam, the Foreign Secretary will deliver opening remarks at the 5th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) on the UK’s ambitions for its Indo-Pacific tilt to an audience of representatives from more than 50 countries.

He will meet Vietnamese leaders, including President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh and Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son to discuss the implementation of the UK-Vietnam Strategic Partnership Agreement, in addition to subjects such as global health security, climate change and combatting serious organised crime.

Raab will then travel to Cambodia to meet Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn to set out the ambition for the UK bid for ‘ASEAN Dialogue Partnership’ status ahead of Cambodia taking up the chair of ASEAN.

This status would give the UK the closest form of relationship with ASEAN. This will be the first Foreign Secretary visit to Cambodia since the British Embassy was reopened 30 years ago.

The visit will finish in Singapore, with a meeting with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to discuss geo-political security and climate change, as well as the international response to Covid. The Foreign Secretary will also meet Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and address British and Singaporean business leaders from across Asia Pacific, highlighting the economic and strategic benefits of CPTPP and the UK’s wider trade and foreign policy priorities for the region.

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