Source · Select Committees · National Security Strategy (Joint Committee)
Recommendation 27
27
Accepted
The Government should also pursue this contingency through continuing to develop strategic partnerships with non-NATO...
Recommendation
The Government should also pursue this contingency through continuing to develop strategic partnerships with non-NATO allies in other parts of the world. In addition to working to shore up European NATO’s capabilities, the UK should plan to move away from a bilateral relationship with the United States that is so dependent on the latter for nuclear and intelligence operations, and conventional defence. (Recommendation, Paragraph 120)
Government Response Summary
The government stated its commitment to diversifying relationships beyond NATO, citing programmes like AUKUS, the Global Combat Air Programme, and partnerships with India and Indonesia as examples of how it is already developing strategic partnerships with non-NATO allies to reduce dependencies.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The depth and breadth of the UK-US defence and security relationship delivers mutual benefits for both nations. As the Prime Minister said in his speech at the Munich Security Conference, the emphasis should be on interdependence and not overdependence. NATO members need to answer the call for more burden-sharing in Europe. The UK is playing a leading role, cooperating with NATO, the US, and European counterparts to strengthen Euro-Atlantic Security. This collaboration is being further reinforced through a series of bilateral treaties intended to reinforce our collective security and defence industrial partnerships, including the 2025 Lancaster House 2.0 Treaty with France, and the Kensington House Treaty with Germany. The US remains the UK’s most important defence and security ally. We are committed to a strong and enduring NATO alliance, which benefits the security and prosperity of all its members, including the United States. We are working closely with our allies to build a stronger, more capable European pillar within NATO, ensuring the alliance remains the bedrock of transatlantic security. This generational shift in defence investment and industrial cooperation is designed to strengthen NATO, and move away from overdependence on any one state. We are already enhancing nuclear cooperation with France, working with our Joint Expeditionary Force allies to protect our northern flank, and developing next generation long-range missiles in partnership with Germany, France and Italy. ‘NATO First’ does not mean ‘NATO only’ and we are deepening our alliances and partnerships across the world. Major capability programmes and industrial agreements like AUKUS, the Global Combat Air Programme, and the Defence Industrial Roadmap with India and our Strategic Partnership with Indonesia complement but are not tied to NATO. This means we are able to diversify our relationships and reduce our dependencies on any single state. To ensure that our alliances remain robust we are also increasing the sovereign strengths of the UK that underpin our national security, including the launch of a £500 million Sovereign AI Fund and a £1 billion programme to procure commercial-scale quantum computers.