Defence Secretary Sir will host US Secretary
of Defense Jim Mattis today in London, to review both
countries’ vital roles within NATO and progress being made in
tackling Daesh.
In the meeting at the Ministry of Defence, the first in London
since Secretary Mattis took up office in January, Sir Michael
will set out the ways Britain is stepping up its global role,
following the triggering of Article 50 by the Prime Minister on
Wednesday.
Defence Secretary Sir said:
“Our defence relationship with the US is unprecedented in its
depth and scope. As we leave the EU, our bilateral relationships
matter more than ever, so we’ll be enhancing our co-operation and
investing more in our joint F-35 fast jet programme.
“Together we will also agree further steps to modernise NATO and
ensure greater burden sharing. That means more European members
committing to annual increases in their defence spending in order
to counter an aggressive Russia and tackle terrorism and cyber
threats.”
On Wednesday, the Prime Minister referenced the fragility of
today’s European security, saying it is now more unstable than at
any time since the end of the Cold War. Sir Michael and Secretary
Mattis will agree steps for NATO modernisation, including simpler
command structures, and review progress towards NATO members
meeting their 2% defence spending commitments. Sir Michael is
calling on NATO members not meeting the 2% commitment to increase
their defence budget annually in real terms. The Foreign
Secretary is also due to call for increased burden sharing within
the Alliance at a meeting in Brussels today.
The meeting will see Sir Michael outline how Britain is playing a
leading role in European and global defence and security and
wants a deep and special economic and security partnership with
the EU after the UK leaves. When Britain leaves the EU, around
80% of NATO defence spending will be non-EU, and three out of the
four countries leading NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) in
eastern Europe will be non-EU members.
200 of 800 troops are already in the country with the remainder
due to arrive next week, alongside over 300 British Army
vehicles. Additionally, the UK is supporting the US-led eFP in
Poland, contributing hundreds of troops and more than 50
vehicles. Britain is also this year leading NATO’s Very High
Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF), a multinational brigade, ready
to respond to any threat to the Alliance’s territory, and RAF
Typhoon jets will head to Romania from May for the UK’s
contribution to NATO’s Southern Air Policing mission.
Today’s meeting will enable the two ministers to examine deepen
the longstanding defence relationship, including major joint
equipment projects, such as the F35 Joint Strike Fighter, P8
maritime patrol aircraft, US deployments on Britain’s new
aircraft carriers. Sir Michael will announce later today a £90
million investment at RAF Marham to support Britain’s new F-35
Lightning aircraft, supporting hundreds of highly skilled British
jobs. The F-35 is the world’s single largest Defence programme,
and the UK has played a major role from the outset, with UK
industry providing 15% of every aircraft built. Last year the
Defence Secretary announced that the UK would be the regional
repair and maintenance hub for all European F-35 aircraft.
The meeting today will review progress in the campaign against
Daesh. Both countries are leading the global counter-Daesh
Coalition, supporting Iraqi forces making further advances in
west Mosul, in Iraq, and planning the campaign to isolate and
then liberate Raqqa in Syria.
The UK and the US have a long history of deploying together on
operations, with next week marking the
100th anniversary of America’s entry into the
First World War.
