London: An upcoming report by the UK government is set to publish the strategic defence review warning of challenges posed by Russia and China.
The review, a 10-year plan for military equipment and services, will warn of the “immediate and pressing” danger posed by Russia, according to media reports.
The 130-page document, prepared by a team headed by former NATO secretary general George Robertson, describes China as a “sophisticated and persistent challenge”, which at times has been willing to cooperate with Russia, and two smaller “regional disruptors” – Iran and North Korea.
Since the war broke out in Ukraine in 2022, Russia has signed key deals with several of the West’s adversaries, China, Iran and North Korea.
The review, which was put together by Robertson alongside Fiona Hill, a former US presidential advisor, and Richard Barrons, a former British commander, is also likely to question the size of the British army, which currently is around 1 lakh.
On May 31, the European Union’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, also said that Europe saw the China-Russia threat as the world’s “greatest challenge”.
“When China and Russia speak of leading together changes not seen in a hundred years and of revisions of the global security order, we should all be extremely worried,” Ms Kallas told an audience at the Shangri-La security conference in Singapore.
“If you are worried about China, you should be worried about Russia,” she added.
The UK government said it will build at least six new factories producing weapons and explosives as part of a major review of its defence capabilities.
The Ministry of Defence said that the Starmer-led government will invest more than US $163.1 billion in ‘Digital Targeting Web’ to “spearhead battlefield engagements, applying lessons learnt from Ukraine to the UK Armed Forces”.
“The hard-fought lessons from Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine leave us under no illusions that future conflicts will be won through forces that are better connected, better equipped and innovating faster than their adversaries,” Defence Secretary John Healey said in a statement.
“We will give our Armed Forces the ability to act at speeds never seen before – connecting ships, aircraft, tanks and operators so they can share vital information instantly and strike further and faster,” he added.
