Editing Edward Heath (section)

===Foreign policy===
{{See also|Enlargement of the European Union#First enlargement}}
{{Multiple image
 | direction = vertical
 | image1    = Prime Minister Edward Heath, Queen Elizabeth II, President Richard Nixon, and Pat Nixon at Chequers.jpg
 | alt1      = Heath, the Queen, Richard Nixon and Pat Nixon
 | caption1  = Heath and [[Elizabeth II|the Queen]] with the visiting US president Richard Nixon and first lady [[Pat Nixon]] in 1970
 | image2    = Besuch von Premierminister von Großbritanniend Eward Heath in Holtenau (Kiel 53.857).jpg
 | alt2      = Heath and Uwe Barschel
 | caption2  = Heath with German [[Christian Democratic Union of Germany|CDU]] politician [[Uwe Barschel]] in 1972
}}

Upon entering office in June 1970, Heath immediately set about trying to reverse Wilson's policy of ending Britain's military presence [[East of Suez]].<ref>''The Oxford Illustrated History of the British Army'' (1994), p. 362.</ref> Heath took the United Kingdom into Europe on 1 January 1973, following passage in Parliament of the [[European Communities Act 1972 (UK)|European Communities Act 1972]] in October.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1972/68/pdfs/ukpga_19720068_en.pdf |title=European Communities Act 1972 |access-date=17 July 2016}}</ref>

He publicly supported the [[Operation Linebacker II|massive U.S. bombing]] of [[Hanoi]] and [[Haiphong]] in December 1972.<ref>{{cite journal|title='The Blue-Eyed Boys': The Heath Government, Anglo-American Relations, and the Bombing of North Vietnam in 1972|first=Matthew|last=Jones|date=2022|journal=The International History Review|volume=44|issue=1|pages=92–112|doi=10.1080/07075332.2021.1915360|doi-access=free}}</ref>

According to [[John McEvoy]] and [[Mark Curtis (British author)|Mark Curtis]] of [[Declassified UK]], his government quickly recognised the military regime of [[Augusto Pinochet]] in [[Military dictatorship of Chile (1973–1990)|Chile]] and maintained good relations with it, despite the illegal nature of the Pinochet regime's [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|coup d'état]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2020-09-22-exclusive-secret-cables-reveal-britain-interfered-with-elections-in-chile/|title=Declassified UK: Exclusive: Secret cables reveal Britain interfered with elections in Chile |first=John|last=McEvoy|date=22 September 2020|website=Declassified UK via Daily Maverick}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://declassifieduk.org/our-major-interest-is-copper-britain-backed-pinochets-bloody-coup-in-chile/|title='Our major interest is copper': Britain backed Pinochet's bloody coup in Chile|first=Mark|last=Curtis|date=4 September 2023|website=Declassified UK via Daily Maverick}}</ref>

In October 1973 he placed a British arms embargo on all combatants in the Arab-Israeli [[Yom Kippur War]], which mostly affected the Israelis by preventing them obtaining spares for their Centurion tanks. Heath refused to allow US intelligence gathering from [[British bases in Cyprus]], resulting in a temporary halt in the US signals intelligence tap.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb137/is_3_24/ai_n28939894/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111110085303/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb137/is_3_24/ai_n28939894/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 November 2011 |work=Harvard International Review |title=Dangerous liaisons: post-September 11 intelligence alliances |year=2002 }}</ref>

He favoured links with the [[History of the People's Republic of China (1949–1976)|People's Republic of China]], visiting [[Mao Zedong]] in Beijing in 1974 and 1975 and remaining an honoured guest in China on frequent visits thereafter and forming a close relationship with Mao's successor [[Deng Xiaoping]]. Heath realised that to become closer to Europe he needed to be further from the United States, so he downplayed the [[Special Relationship]] that had long knitted the two nations together. The two nations differed on such major crises as Britain's EC membership, the [[Nixonomics|Nixon economic "shocks" of 1971]], the [[Bangladesh Liberation War]], détente with Soviet Union, Kissinger's Year of Europe and the Middle East crisis of 1973.<ref>Andrew Scott, ''Allies Apart: Heath, Nixon & the Anglo-American Relationship'' (2011).</ref>