Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has pumped an extra £5 billion into UK military spending and warned of a “more volatile world” following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Chinese regime’s increasingly belligerent posture.
The review said Britain would work with allies on rolling back Russia’s “malign” influence from Moldova to Mongolia as well as “degrading” Russian capabilities which threaten the UK directly.
“A vital part of this is supporting Ukraine to reassert its sovereignty and denying Russia any strategic benefit from its invasion,” it added.
Sunak announced a £5 billion boost in UK military spending over the next two years, £3 billion of which will go towards the Dreadnought programme, which will provide four new nuclear submarines capable of maintaining Britain’s permanent independent nuclear deterrent.
CCP Threat Is ‘Epoch-Defining Challenge’
While Russia remains the number one short-term threat to Britain, Sunak, in his foreword to the review, said the CCP’s military, financial, and diplomatic activity represented an “epoch-defining challenge.”Sunak said: “We will work with our partners to engage with Beijing on issues such as climate change. But where there are attempts by the Chinese Communist Party to coerce or create dependencies, we will work closely with others to push back against them.”
The review said, “Where it is consistent with these interests, we will engage constructively with the Chinese government, business and people and cooperate on shared priorities.”
“But wherever the Chinese Communist Party’s actions and stated intent threaten the UK’s interests, we will take swift and robust action to protect them,” it added.
‘World Defined by Danger, Disorder and Division’
He added: “Since then, Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, weaponisation of energy and food supplies and irresponsible nuclear rhetoric, combined with China’s more aggressive stance in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, are threatening to create a world defined by danger, disorder and division.”Sunak said his government would increase defence funding as a percentage of GDP from 2 percent in 2020 to 2.25 percent in 2025, with the ultimate aim of reaching 2.5 percent.
Speaking from the deck of the USS Midway in San Diego, Sunak said: “As I will discuss with our American and Australian allies in the U.S. today, the UK will remain a leading contributor to NATO and a reliable international partner, standing up for our values from Ukraine to the South China Seas.”
He added: “We have seen all too clearly in the last year how global crises impact us at home, with Russia’s appalling invasion of Ukraine driving up energy and food prices. We will fortify our national defences, from economic security to technology supply chains and intelligence expertise, to ensure we are never again vulnerable to the actions of a hostile power.”
Next Defence Spending Review Will Be After General Election
The next review of defence spending will come in 2025, after a general election in which Sunak and the Conservatives could lose power to Labour.Labour’s shadow defence secretary John Healey said: “When 25 other NATO nations have already rebooted defence plans and spending since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Conservatives are still dragging their feet on the big decisions.”
In Parliament, Labour MP Andrew Gwynne quoted the former chief of the general staff, Lord Dannatt, who said recently, “The planned cuts in the strength of the army must be stopped and fresh investment must pour into our artillery, air defence, communications and logistics capability.”
Gwynne asked the defence secretary what he was planning to do to reverse the cuts to the British Army, which has now been reduced to 76,000, the smallest it has been since the creation of the United Kingdom.
The defence command paper will be published in June and will detail the revised structure of the armed forces.
Wallace was also asked about the Ministry of Defence’s record of going over-budget on projects.
He said one of the biggest drivers of cost-overruns was the decision by the “government of the day” to defer.
Wallace said Labour’s decision to defer a decision on the Royal Navy’s aircraft carriers cost £1 billion, while the Conservative government’s decision on F-35 aircraft cost £500 million.