(LD):...When we examine some of those promises, we see
that they reflect things which the Ministry of Defence should be
doing now as a matter of course. Surely we are currently
enhancing,
“efforts with our allies and partners”.
Indeed, one would think that the very possibility of Brexit would
surely make that an even more urgent requirement. Are we going to
“act independently”? For example, if independent action in
defence of an overseas territory were required, surely we would
be capable of doing that at the moment. Why are those two issues
focused on in that way that they are in the Statement?
The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Earl Howe)
(Con):...Both noble Lords asked about the circumstances in
which we might act independently. I would not want to place too
much emphasis on that part of the Statement. In the vast majority
of situations we plan on the basis of working alongside our allies
in NATO—the cornerstone of our defence—or as part of some other
multilateral force, hence the emphasis in the report on the theme
of international by design, which was a key strand of policy
articulated in the SDSR. We are the lead nation in the JEF, for
example. We lead the framework NATO battalion in Estonia. However,
the nation would expect that we should, in exceptional
circumstances, be able to act independently, not least in defence
of the realm and our overseas territories, and to respond effectively
in disaster relief and humanitarian operations that our allies
might not necessarily wish to take part in.
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