The UK announced it will bolster its "hollow" armed forces to ensure the country is prepared to confront what a defense review chief described as a "deadly quad" comprising China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The government has appointed George Robertson, a former NATO Secretary General, to lead a review of the British armed forces that will present its report in the first half of 2025.
Robertson, who served as UK Defense Secretary in the late 1990s and held the NATO Secretary General position from 1999 to 2003, stated that the armed forces must be combat-ready due to the level of threat. He told British media, "We face a deadly quad of nations increasingly working together, and we in this country, along with NATO, which effectively met last week, must be capable of confronting that quad specifically in addition to other challenges."
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer reaffirmed his commitment to increasing defense spending to 2.5% of GDP at the NATO summit in the U.S. shortly after his election, but he has yet to specify a timeline for this commitment. In launching the review, Starmer described the armed forces as "hollow" and expressed a desire to increase spending responsibly for long-term resilience.
Robertson emphasized, "The NATO summit last week in Washington made it very clear that the challenge posed by China must be taken very seriously." Fiona Hill, a former U.S. presidential advisor and foreign policy expert, will also oversee the review alongside retired British Army General Richard Barrons, who previously led the Joint Forces Command.
