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Agence France-Presse

Britain on Tuesday launched a review of its armed forces, with the former Nato chief leading the evaluation warning the world faces a “deadly quartet” of China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.
The assessment, ordered by Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer less than a week after he returned from a Nato summit, will set out a path to increasing defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP.
The defence ministry said the strategic defence review would begin work “immediately in recognition of the urgency of the threats facing the UK”, and aim to deliver a report in the first half of next year.
UK spending on defence last year stood at 2.26 per cent, according to latest official figures, while Poland spent 3.83 per cent, the United States 3.36 per cent and France 2.06 per cent.

The review will be headed by George Robertson, a former UK defence secretary under Tony Blair and Nato secretary general from 1999 to 2003, and include foreign policy expert and former US presidential adviser Fiona Hill.
“We’re confronted by a deadly quartet of nations increasingly working together,” Robertson told a briefing on Monday referring to China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.
The UK and its allies had “to be able to confront that particular quartet”, he said, adding that the world had changed “out of all recognition” since he was last in government.
His comments are a shift in tone from former prime minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government which described Beijing as a “systemic challenge” and echoes Nato’s hardening of its stance on China.
The review, launched less than two weeks after coming to power, is the government’s response to Conservatives’ efforts to cast doubts about Labour’s commitment to defence.


During the election campaign, popular attack lines from the Tories included Starmer’s lack of time frame for increasing defence spending and claims that Labour was a “danger” to national security.
Labour has accused the Conservatives of “hollowing out” Britain’s armed forces during its 14 years in power, with cuts notably in personnel, units and equipment.
Starmer said during the election campaign that the army, with some 75,000 regular soldiers, is at its smallest size since the Napoleonic wars in the early 19th century, prompting questions about its ability to fight an all-out war.
At last week’s Nato summit in Washington, Starmer reaffirmed the UK’s support for the Western military alliance and its “serious commitment” to spending 2.5 per cent of its GDP on defence.
Starmer said the review would make sure “that defence spending is responsibly increased”.

It will be overseen by current defence secretary John Healey, who said “at the start of a new era for Britain, we need a new era for defence”.
“The review will ensure that defence is central to the future security of Britain and to its economic growth and prosperity”, Healey added.
The defence secretary had urged Nato to consider moving towards a 2.5 per cent goal at the 75th anniversary summit last week, with Nato allies having committed in 2014 to reach a two-percent goal.
European countries still to reach the two-percent target included the Netherlands, Germany and Spain who all spent just around 1.5 per cent.
Other specific aims of the review include “bolstering Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression” and to “modernise and maintain the nuclear deterrent”.


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Britain

UK launches armed forces review amid ‘deadly quartet’ of China, Russia, Iran, North Korea

Prime Minister Keir Starmer ordered the review less than a week after he returned from a Nato summit in Washington, where he reaffirmed the Britain’s support for Nato. Photo: AP

Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer (left) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (right) look on as US President Joe Biden speaks. Photo: dpa

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (left) and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the Nato summit in Washington, where Starmer conveyed Britain’s “serious commitment” to spending 2.5 per cent of its GDP on defence. Photo: TNS

South Korea risks ‘crossfire’ by partnering Nato amid Ukraine war, US-China rivalry

South Korea President Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife Kim Keon-hee, and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife Olena Zelenska at the White House in Washington. Photo: AP

New Zealand PM Christopher Luxon, South Korea President Yoon Suk-yeol, his wife Kim Keon-hee, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife Olena Zelenska and Japanese PM Fumio Kishida at the White House for the Nato summit. Photo: AFP

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz shake hands during their meeting on the sidelines of the Nato summit in Washington. Photo: EPA-EFE

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese PM Fumio Kishida hold summit talks during their meeting on the sidelines of the Nato summit in Washington, D.C. Photo: EPA-EFE

Russia warns it could target European capitals if US deploys missiles

A Tomahawk Missile being launched from guided-missile destroyer USS Stethem during a military exercise in September 2016. The US is planning to periodically station long-range missiles in Germany. Photo: US Navy via AFP

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends a press conference in Moscow, Russia, on July 5. Photo: Reuters

As China decries US plans for an Asian Nato, is it all a ‘political gimmick’?

Banners outside Nato headquarters in Belgium. Observers say an Asian version seems unlikely any time soon. Photo: Reuters

China’s Lieutenant General Jing Jianfeng has accused the United States of creating an Asian Nato. Photo: Jack Lau

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Soldiers salute during the flag-rising ceremony at Ba Dinh Square, in front of the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, in Hanoi on May 14. Vietnam has a “very strict” policy against military alliances, according to former US Air Force colonel Ray Powell. Photo: Bloomberg

Is China a threat to Europe? Nato’s China stance may rest on its answer

Illustration: Craig Stephens

Nato vs China: ‘blame-shifters’ take aim at a ‘decisive enabler’ on Russia’s war in Ukraine

China came in for tough criticism as Nato members and partners met in Washington this week. Photo: Kyodo

News

World

Europe

The review will set out a path to increasing defence spending from 2.26 per cent of GDP last year to 2.5 per cent


The assessment, ordered by Prime Minister Keir Starmer less than a week after he returned from a Nato summit, will set out a path to increasing defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP.
