Foreign Affairs

Mattis Issues A Stern Warning To The UK Over Military Strength And Signals They Could Be Replaced As Top Ally

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Defense secretary James Mattis appealed to his British counterpart, Gavin Williamson, by threatening that France could overtake the United Kingdom as the U.S.’ top military ally in Europe if  the UK doesn’t up their contribution to defense spending, according to a report by The Guardian.

U.S. is increasing pressure on the UK ahead of President Donald Trump’s trip to Brussels next week for a NATO summit where he will goad European countries into reaching goals of at least 2 percent economic output to defense every year by 2024.

Mattis challenged Williamson to convince prime minister Theresa May and chancellor Phillip Hammond to rise to the occasion to exceed the 2 percent goal, for which they have already been meeting, according to a leaked letter between the two defense secretaries. The two UK leaders have definitively ruled out contributing anything more to their defense budget, despite France’s president Emmanuel Macron pledging the opposite. France is below the NATO goal at 1.7 percent, but has committed to funneling billions of dollars into their budget from now till 2025.

“The UK maintains the biggest defense budget in Europe and we have been clear we will continue to exceed NATO’s 2 percent spending target.” a Ministry of Defense spokesman said to the Guardian on Monday.

Still their reluctance to move beyond the target goal has positioned France to take the UK’s spot as a key European defense ally to the U.S., a position they have been vying for despite a former contentious relationship between France and the U.S.

“It is not for me to tell you how to prioritize your domestic spending priorities, but I hope the UK will soon be able to share with us a clear and fully funded forward defense blueprint that will allow me to plan our own future engagement with you from a position of strength and confidence,” Mattis said in the letter sent to Williamson on June 12. The U.S. hopes for an update on how the UK plans to proceed on defense spending by the time the Brussels summit rolls around on July 11.

“A global nation like the UK, with interests and commitments around the world, will require a level of defense spending beyond what we would expect from allies with only regional interests. Absent a vibrant military arm, world peace and stability would be at further risk,” Mattis warned.

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