Brexit could boost UK’s military standing against China and Russia, says defence secretary Williamson
- He intends to argue in a speech at the Royal United Services Institute that a post-Brexit UK should redefine itself as a global power prepared to intervene against countries that ‘flout international law’
Brexit represents an opportunity for Britain to boost its global military standing in response to the threats posed by Russia and China, the defence secretary will say in a notably combative address at a defence think tank.
The cabinet minister, who is increasingly keen to talk up Brexit at a time when a deal is elusive, is expected to say leaving the EU will allow the UK “to consider how we not only project but maximise our influence around the world in the months and years to come”.
Williamson is expected to conclude: “Brexit has brought us to a great moment in our history. A moment when we must strengthen our global presence, enhance our lethality and increase our mass.”
Allies of the minister indicated that Williamson would detail new technologies to spell out what he meant by boosting the lethality of the armed forces, stemming from a belief that future threats are more likely to come from well-resourced states rather than Islamist or other terrorist groups.
‘Global Britain’ needs to be much more than a pity phrase. It is about action
“Russia is resurgent rebuilding its military arsenal” and Nato must “develop its ability to handle the kind of provocations that Russia is throwing at us”, the minister will say nearly a year after the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury, which Moscow is widely suspected of orchestrating.
The defence secretary wants the UK to step up its presence in Asia with a new military base – a generation after Harold Wilson retreated from “east of Suez” – and will confirm that the first of Britain’s next-generation aircraft carriers, the Queen Elizabeth, will tour the Pacific as part of its maiden voyage in around 2021.