Britain has confirmed it will enhance its "hollow" armed forces to ensure the country is prepared to face what the head of a defense review has described as a "lethal quartet" comprising China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The government appointed George Robertson, the former NATO Secretary General, on Tuesday to lead a review committee of the British armed forces that will present its report in the first half of 2025.
Robertson, who served as Britain's Defense Minister in the late 1990s and held the position of NATO Secretary General from 1999 to 2003, stated that the armed forces must be ready for battle given the level of threat. He told British media, "We are facing a lethal quartet (China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia) of countries that are increasingly working together, and we in this country, along with NATO which successfully met last week, must be capable of facing that quartet specifically in addition to other issues."
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer reaffirmed his commitment to increasing defense spending to 2.5 percent of GDP at a NATO summit in the United States just days after his election, but he has yet to specify a timeline for this. Launching the review, Starmer described the British armed forces as "hollow" and expressed his desire to increase spending responsibly to achieve long-term sustainability.
Robertson stated, "The NATO summit last week in Washington clearly made it evident that the challenge posed by China must be taken very seriously." Fiona Hill, a former advisor to the U.S. presidency and foreign policy expert, will also oversee the review alongside retired British Army General Richard Barrons, who was previously the commander of the Joint Forces Command.
