Britain is beefing up its armed forces to ensure that the country can deal with what the head of the defence review, George Robertson, has called a “deadly quartet”, which includes China, Iran, North Korea and Russia.

In particular, the government has appointed George Robertson, former NATO secretary-general, to lead a review of Britain’s armed forces that will report back in the first half of 2025.

Robertson, a former defence secretary in the late 1990s who headed NATO from 1999 to 2003, said that the armed forces must be ready for combat given the level of the threat.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer reaffirmed his commitment to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP at a NATO summit held in the United States days after his election, although he has not yet said when that will happen.

Marking the start of a review of the armed forces, Keir Starmer said that he wanted to increase spending responsibly to ensure their long-term resilience.

Robertson said that last week’s NATO summit in Washington made it abundantly clear that China’s challenge is something that should be taken very seriously.

Fiona Hill, a former US presidential adviser and foreign policy expert, will also oversee the review, along with retired British general Richard Barons, who was previously chief of the armed forces’ general staff.

Source: AMNA

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