New Delhi: The UK government — led by Prime Minister Keir Starmer — is set to release the strategic defence review on Monday. The report is likely to highlight the threats posed by Russia and China.
As per a report by British newspaper The Guardian on Saturday, the review, a 10-year plan for military equipment and services, will sound a warning of the “immediate and pressing” danger posed by Russia.
It’s a 130-page report which has been compiled by a team led by former NATO Secretary General George Robertson. The report will dub China as a “sophisticated and persistent challenge” that has at times shown a willingness to cooperate with Russia. It will also identify Iran and North Korea as two smaller “regional disruptors”.
In 2022, the Russia-Ukraine war erupted. Since then, Russia has inked significant deals with a number of adversaries of the West, including China, Iran and North Korea.
The report has been put together by Robertson and Fiona Hill, a former US presidential advisor, and Richard Barrons, a former British commander. It is also expected to question the size of the British army, which currently is around 1 lakh.
European Union’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas Saturday said that Europe saw the China-Russia threat as the world’s “greatest challenge”. “When China and Russia speak of leading together changes not seen in a hundred years and of revisions of the global security order, we should all be extremely worried,” Kallas said while speaking at the Shangri-La security conference in Singapore. “If you are worried about China, you should be worried about Russia,” she cautioned.
Meanwhile, on Saturday, the UK government said it will set up at least six new factories manufacturing weapons and explosives as part of a massive reassessment of its defence capabilities.
