Defence Secretary Denmark press conference opening
remarks on Defence and security cooperation.
Thank you for your welcome. Thank you for your team for hosting
us.
Denmark is a vital and long-standing ally of the UK. Together
we've founded NATO. We share the same values. We face the same
threats.
In just the last 12 months, we've seen drone incursions in
Europe. We've seen Russian spy ships in our waters. And we've
seen cyber-attacks against our critical national
infrastructure.
And this new era of threat demands a new era for defence, and
that new era for defence is hard power, it's strong alliances,
and it is sure diplomacy.
And as JEF partners and as NATO allies, Denmark and the UK are
stepping up together on European security. Our nation's shared
history, as you say, runs deep. And earlier this week, our Prime
Minister reinforced the UK's firm position on Greenland.
As UK Defence Secretary, I know the close relationship and the
deep respect that our two militaries have for one another. In
Afghanistan, our forces trained together, they fought together,
and on some occasions, they died together, making the ultimate
sacrifice.
In Denmark last year, I deployed a counter-drone unit to help
protect Copenhagen Airport and your international conference. In
a world where demands on defence are rising, our partnership
matters more than ever. So later this year, JEF's Lion exercises
military exercises that will take place across the Baltic, the
North Atlantic, and the Arctic will see hundreds of troops
alongside ships, planes, drones deployed across the high north,
deployed to deter threats and to reassure allies.
We have, and we are, and we will further step up together for
European security. And in these current uncertainties, we must
never forget who our adversaries are and who our allies remain.
It's Russian attacks that are escalating in Ukraine. It's Russian
activity expanding in the High North with new bases, and it's
Russian recklessness that is testing NATO's response and resolve.
And so today we've spoken about together, how we're taking a
stand against Russia's aggression, how we're accelerating air
defence support for Ukraine, how we're firming up military plans
for a post-peace deal settlement, and how we're tackling the
Russian shallow fleet. Because a secure Europe requires a strong
Ukraine, and I'm proud that our two nations are amongst the
foremost supporters of Ukraine, and providing military aid.
And together we're clear about our mission to support Ukraine in
the fight today and to prepare for the peace tomorrow.
And finally, in this new era for defence, we're spending more,
but we also want to build more. We want to innovate more
together. And we have world-leading defence industries in our two
nations. So today we have indeed discussed how much more there is
the potential to boost that cooperation between our industries
and the potential to drive defence in both our nations as an
engine for economic growth and jobs for the future. So Troels,
our partnership is strong, it will grow stronger in the coming
months and I look forward to working on strengthening that.
