US tells Britain it needs to spends 5% on defence and 'it's important they get there' as US prepares for WW3

Daily Mail​

a day ago

The United States has urged Britain to hike its defence spending to five per cent as NATO members close in on agreeing new targets.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a NATO summit today, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth singled out Britain in a call to urgently raise its spending.
'Our friends in the UK... we're going to get there,' he said, after meeting with fellow defence ministers to discuss revised commitments across the bloc.
'We think everyone is going to get there, we really do. It's important they do. It's important that the UK gets there.'
Hegseth has been crusading to get partners in Europe to shoulder more of the financial burden as the US recalibrates its focus towards China.
No country has yet reached the five per cent goal - not even the US - but Hegseth said today there was progress on agreeing to the target after talks in Brussels.
'I'm very encouraged by what we heard in there,' he said after this morning's meeting with fellow defence ministers.
'Countries in there are well exceeding two per cent and we think very close, almost near consensus, on a five per cent commitment to NATO.'
Sir Keir Starmer is now set to meet the head of NATO next week, with the alliance expected to call on countries to increase spending.
Downing Street has said that the Prime Minister is likely to raise the question of how 'we can ensure all allies meet their stated pledges in support of our collective defence', when he meets secretary general Mark Rutte on Monday.
Rutte is thought to be pushing for members to commit to spending 3.5% on the military, with a further 1.5% on defence-related measures.
Still, the sum is a far cry from pledges made to date.
Britain's long-awaited strategic defence review (SDR), unveiled this week, detailed ambitions to reach three per cent in the next parliament.
In 2014, NATO Heads of State and Government agreed to commit two per cent of their GDP to defence spending in the wake of Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea.
But a decade later, just 22 allies of 32 members were expected to meet or exceed the target. It was a significant jump from three in 2014.
'This alliance, we believe, in a matter of weeks, will be committing to five percent - 3.5 percent in hard military and 1.5 percent in infrastructure and defence-related activities,' Hegseth said after Thursday's talks.
'That combination constitutes a real commitment, and we think every country can step up.'
Military spending has been under close scrutiny across the bloc since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Donald Trump repeatedly accused his predecessor, Joe Biden, of sending huge sums to Ukraine - citing contested figures much larger than anything reported - before suspending aid to Kyiv in March.
While the administration has since resumed some aid sales to Ukraine and agreed a critical minerals deal with the country, Hegseth has told allies that they cannot expect the US to prop up Kyiv in the face of an increasingly belligerent Russia.
Speaking ahead of today's summit, Hegseth touted 'deterrence and peace through strength', but warned 'it can't be reliance'.
'It cannot and will not be reliance on America in a world of a lot of threats,' he said.
'Every shoulder has to be to the plough. Every country has to contribute at that level of 5% as a recognition of the threat.'
He did soften some of the rhetoric employed earlier this year, assuring allies that the US is 'proud to be here' and to 'stand with our allies'.
Arriving in Brussels, Rutte told reporters he expects allies will 'agree on capability targets' today.
'What we will do today is to decide what do we need...to defend ourselves,' he said.
'So, as you know, to prepare for war, spend more. And when you originally prepared for war, you will not be attacked.'
'We're here to continue the work that President Trump started, which is a commitment to 5% defence spending across the alliance, which we think will happen,' Hegseth had stressed ahead of the summit.
But most partners are some way off the target sought by the United States.
All members increased their military spending in 2024 against the backdrop of the War in Ukraine.
Total military spending amounted to $1506bn, or 55% of global military expenditure, with 18 of 32 members spending at least 2% of GDP on their militaries, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
Of that sum, the US alone spent $997bn, or 66% of the bloc's total spend.
According to the most recent available data from NATO, 22 allies were expected to meet or exceed the target of investing at least two per cent of GDP in defence last year.
Poland, one of the most rapidly militarising members, is expected to spend 4.7% on defence in 2025.
Sir Keir Starmer unveiled the long-awaited strategic defence review (SDR) at the Govan shipbuilding yard in Scotland this week, setting out a path to transform Britain's defence capabilities over the next decade.
'As the UK steps up to take on more responsibility for European security, we must have a 'NATO first' defence policy and lead within the Alliance,' a statement from the Ministry of Defence read, issued Monday.
'The UK will become the leading edge of innovation in NATO.'
The review, compiled by a team led by Labour peer and former NATO chief Lord George Robertson, made a total of 62 recommendations to make Britain war ready, including:
An 'ambition to reach 3%' GDP spending in the next parliament - but no hard commitment;
Building up to 12 attack submarines for the Royal Navy via the AUKUS alliance with Australia and the United States;
Investment of £15bn in Britain's sovereign warhead programme in this parliament;
Investment in munitions and building at least six new energetics and munitions factories in the UK, creating more than 1,000 jobs;
Increasing the size of the regular Army from 73,000 to 76,000 in the next parliament;
A Defence Readiness Bill, giving the government 'additional powers' to support the mobilisation of industry and Reserves for war-readiness;
Wider MoD spending on novel technologies each year, with ambitions to become a leading tech-enabled defence power' by 2035.
European defence companies welcomed the review. Hugo Vanbockryck, Senior Vice President, Market Area Europe at Patria, told MailOnline: 'The Strategic Defence Review represents a significant and welcome shift in the UK's approach to defence preparedness and industrial strategy.'
'We fully support the UK government's commitment to rebuilding defence capabilities and strengthening alliances.
'Putin's illegal invasion of Ukraine has underscored the need for deeper collaboration among European allies and the importance of warfighting readiness, principles clearly reflected in the Review's NATO-first doctrine.'
The Finnish defence company earlier this year agreed a partnership with London's Babcock to develop a 6x6 Armoured Personnel Carrier to be offered to the UK Armed Forces.
Economists warned that tax rises may be needed to fund proposals outlined in the strategic defence review.