UK, Germany sign friendship treaty to boost ties, counter Russian threat
The treaty on friendship and bilateral cooperation was signed by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in London on Thursday.
The pact identifies the Russian aggression as "the most significant and direct threat" to the security of Britain and Germany.
It says the two countries "affirm as close Allies their deep commitment to each other's defence." It adds that the two "shall assist one another, including by military means, in case of an armed attack on the other."
The treaty also says Britain and Germany shall work to strengthen resilience and build capacity and capability against malicious cyber activity.
Starmer told a news conference that his country and Germany are "side by side, delivering growth and security." He added that the treaty "is an expression of our shared aims and values."
Merz stressed the importance of the pact, saying the two countries have never had such a treaty over the past decades.
In October last year, Britain and Germany signed a defense treaty to fortify their deterrence against Russia. The latest pact between the two countries is an apparent effort to tighten their solidarity through a treaty that covers a broader range of fields.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Japan Times
10 hours ago
- Japan Times
Britain and Europe are changing together
Many state visits are empty, symbolic acts that have little to no policy content or lasting significance. But every now and then, such a visit changes the shape of international relations. Could French President Emmanuel Macron's recently concluded trip to London be one of them? Macron's recent three-day trip, the first state visit to the United Kingdom by a European Union head of state since Brexit in 2020, had plenty of pomp and pageantry. But it also focused on policy and politics, which reflects a profound shift in the U.K.'s circumstances since leaving the EU. During the upheaval of the Brexit psychodrama, there was little interest in constructive exchange, and the U.K.'s relationship with Europe remained defined by its lurching departure from the bloc. But nearly a decade on, Donald Trump is back in the White House and has launched a trade war on the world. Russian President Vladimir Putin has shredded the European security order. And Chinese President Xi Jinping has resorted to threats of economic coercion — a striking reversal from the 'golden era' of U.K.-China relations proclaimed in 2015. Even more dramatic, perhaps, are the changes in the EU. The big policy initiatives launched during Macron's U.K. visit reflect the forces that are turning the bloc on its head. First, the EU is moving from a peace project to a war union. For most of its existence, the EU sought peace through economic integration. But Putin's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 reoriented the bloc toward security — a goal that has taken on greater urgency since Trump cast doubt on the United States' commitment to collective security on the continent. There is broad support for this new orientation. According to a recent opinion poll conducted by the European Council on Foreign Relations, many Europeans favor increased defense spending, conscription and the development of a European or national nuclear deterrent. Against this backdrop, Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer took a bold first step toward establishing an independent nuclear deterrent with the Northwood Declaration, in which they agreed that 'there is no extreme threat to Europe that would not prompt a response by our two nations.' A second major change is the development of 'securonomics.' The EU economy is under pressure from Trump's tariffs and China's export restrictions on magnets and critical minerals. EU policymakers now talk of de-risking, diversifying and deepening the single market, rather than pursuing free-trade agreements. While the U.K. has made it clear that it will not rejoin the single market or the customs union, the question is whether it can persuade the EU that it can be counted on to help the bloc achieve its new trade goals or whether it will be given unfriendly treatment because it is seen as posing a risk to those objectives. Domestic politics in Europe has also undergone a rapid transformation. It has been fascinating to watch Macron — once a poster boy for liberal universalism — reinvent himself as a champion of secure borders and protectionism, while taking a tougher stance on crime. This volte-face has seen mainstream European politicians shift focus toward defending national sovereignty — from Russia, China, Trump and migration — while they try to contain populist parties such as Marine Le Pen's National Rally and Alternative fur Deutschland. That is the backdrop for the ground-breaking deal that Starmer and Macron signed on migration returns. Starmer's approach to Europe is a marked improvement from that of former Conservative prime ministers Boris Johnson (who compared the EU to Napoleon and Hitler) and Liz Truss (who questioned whether Macron was a friend or a foe). Starmer has proved himself, particularly with his deft diplomacy on Ukraine, to be a reliable partner and stakeholder, regaining the trust of EU institutions and member states. One senior German policymaker told me how impressed he was by the U.K. filling the leadership vacuum created by Trump's disregard for Ukraine. In other words, the U.K. is widely seen in Europe as being 'part of the team' again. The EU-U.K. summit in May provided a clear framework for deepening the relationship, not least through a Security and Defense Partnership that paves the way for British participation in European defense programs. But the U.K. government has remained far too cautious in other areas. Most notably, Starmer has been careful not to cross the Labour Party's self-imposed red lines: no freedom of movement, no customs union and no single market. Future historians may well wonder why Starmer did not aim higher. The changing international environment offers Starmer a clear opportunity to redraw Europe's political map, which would establish him as one of Britain's most consequential leaders. But to do so, Starmer must convince British voters that today's Europe is a different creature from the one they imagine: a defense community that is more focused on safeguarding the continent than on transcending the nation-state. And he must explain how the U.K. can help build this new European security order, so long as it banishes the Brexit mindset. As a post-liberal Europe emerges, Britain must stop clinging to the past and seize the chance to shape the continent's future in a way that advances its interests. That requires acknowledging that both the EU and the U.K. have entered a new era. Mark Leonard, director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, is the author of "The Age of Unpeace: How Connectivity Causes Conflict" (Bantam Press, 2021). © Project Syndicate, 2025
Japan Times
10 hours ago
- Japan Times
EU and Japan aim for deeper defense cooperation in high-tech arena
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Wednesday that she sees "a lot of room for cooperation" between the European and Japanese defense and security industries, particularly in technology-driven areas like cyber and dual-use systems such as drones. With the two seeking to diversify partners, they aim to launch a Japan-EU Defense Industry Dialogue early next year that will bring together government officials and business representatives from both sides, Kallas told The Japan Times, as European Union leaders met with their Japanese counterparts for a summit in Tokyo. The dialogue, which is expected to serve as a platform to promote bilateral collaboration, could eventually also present opportunities for Japanese companies to take part in EU defense projects and vice versa. 'When we develop this dialogue further, then I think it will go both ways,' Kallas, who also serves as European Commission vice president, said in an exclusive interview. The former Estonian prime minister explained that the European defense industry is currently facing a number of challenges ranging from long procurement times to high equipment costs and Chinese export controls on rare earths. This is why Europe is following two parallel tracks, particularly amid the backdrop of the war in Ukraine. Brussels is providing more financial possibilities for EU member states to bolster their own industries while they are also buying more military equipment from outside the bloc, particularly from the United States. Kallas hopes that cooperation with Japan will help at least partially overcome some of the current challenges. EU nations in NATO, which face similar production challenges with their domestic defense industries, have agreed to drastically boost defense spending to 5% of gross domestic product by 2035. Japan, which is aiming to reach 2% of GDP spending by 2027, has come under growing pressure from Washington to follow suit. 'In recent years, Tokyo has sought to encourage Japan's defense industry to play a more prominent international role,' said Sebastian Maslow, an associate professor at the University of Tokyo who specializes in international relations. 'Establishing a foothold in Europe could be a significant step in that direction particularly as both sides are increasing defense spending but lack the production capacity to match it,' he added. Both Japan and the EU have said that strengthening their defense-industrial bases is a 'common priority' amid shared concerns over a deteriorating but increasingly interconnected international security environment. 'We see North Korean soldiers being deployed in Russia's war in Ukraine. We see Russia helping North Korea with the military equipment. We see China being the key enabler of Russia's war in Ukraine,' Kallas said. 'So these things are very much interlinked.' European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the EU and Japan are aiming to launch a new Defense Industry Dialogue early next year that will bring together government officials and business representatives from both sides. | CECIL FUNG Amid these and other ongoing geopolitical shifts, such as the U.S. threat of sweeping tariffs, the top EU diplomat says it is only natural for the bloc to diversify its trade portfolio and global security partners. 'I think like-minded partners really should stick together, also those countries that believe in free trade, a level playing field and international law, " she said, adding that 'Japan and the European Union definitely are believers in that.' But Kallas also said that Brussels' push is not limited to Japan. 'When we go around Asia, we see a lot of interest in deepening relations with the European Union. ... From our side, it is definitely also about diversifying the portfolios and not putting all our eggs in one basket,' she said. The EU has also established a defense partnership with South Korea, and last month, Kallas was in Manila to set up a defense dialogue with the Philippines. At the EU-Japan summit, the two sides also formally launched negotiations on a classified information-sharing agreement. The deal will regulate how sensitive information will be shared, handled, stored and disposed of by the two sides. While the pact does not itself authorize information exchanges or specify what data will be exchanged, it is seen as a stepping stone toward greater levels of military and defense-industrial cooperation, including technology transfers. 'Our closer cooperation has become all the more important against the backdrop of an evolving and complex global geopolitical setting, notably Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, the serious challenges to a free and open Indo-Pacific, as well as other regional and international issues,' the two sides said in a joint statement. The two sides' agreements also extended to space, with the partners vowing to accelerate the development of satellite constellations and working with the private sector to promote activities such as space debris mitigation and remediation. They also want to jointly promote norms, rules and principles of responsible behavior in outer space. The latest development follows last November's launch of a security and defense partnership between Brussels and Tokyo that lays the groundwork for closer cooperation in critical areas. These include naval cooperation such as joint training and capacity-building of other Indo-Pacific countries and exploring potential avenues for joint initiatives in the defense industry.
Yomiuri Shimbun
2 days ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
China-Backed Hackers Used Microsoft Flaw in Attacks, Defenders Say
Hackers connected to the Chinese government were behind at least some of the widespread attacks in the past few days on organizations that use collaboration software from Microsoft, defenders working on the intrusions said in interviews. The breaches in the United States and other countries took advantage of a disastrous security flaw that drew attention this month, after Microsoft issued a patch that fixed only part of the problem in SharePoint, which is widely used to coordinate work on documents and projects. 'We assess that at least one of the actors responsible for this early exploitation is a China-nexus threat actor,' said Charles Carmakal, chief technology officer of Google's Mandiant Consulting. Another researcher, who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity because the inquiry is still underway, said federal investigators have evidence of U.S.-based servers linked to compromised SharePoint systems connecting to internet protocol addresses inside China on Friday and Saturday. The FBI, the White House, and the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency declined to comment Monday. Two other responders working with the U.S. government said they had identified early attacks from China as well. The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The attacks allowed hackers to extract cryptographic keys from servers run by Microsoft clients. Those keys, in turn, would let them install anything, including back doors that they could use to return. Federal and state agencies were affected, researchers previously told The Washington Post, but it remains unclear which of them were vulnerable to follow-up attacks. Only versions of SharePoint that are hosted by the customer, not those in the cloud, are vulnerable. Microsoft issued effective patches for the last of the exposed versions by Monday. While installing the patches should prevent new intrusions, customers also need to change the machine's digital keys, apply anti-malware software and hunt for any breaches that have already occurred, Microsoft said. Some of the early targets of the attack were entities that would interest the Chinese government, two of the responders said. But a wide range of attackers were now trying similar grabs, others said, looking to steal corporate secrets or install ransomware that encrypts key files until payments are made. 'It's critical to understand that multiple actors are now actively exploiting this vulnerability. We fully anticipate that this trend will continue, as various other threat actors, driven by diverse motivations, will leverage this exploit as well,' Carmakal said. Piet Kerkhofs, CTO and co-founder of Europe-based Eye Security, said the SharePoint breaches share characteristics with other compromises that security researchers have attributed to China-based hackers. For instance, hackers this month exploited a vulnerability in Citrix's NetScaler virtual desktop that some researchers saw being used by Chinese actors, Kerkhofs said. That hack was similar to the SharePoint compromise in that it turned a freshly discovered vulnerability into an 'exploit' or weapon – in 'extremely fast' order, 'hours to days,'' he said. Another instance was China's global compromise of Microsoft Exchange email servers in early 2021. That case involved hackers sponsored by the Chinese government conducting widespread exploitation of core Microsoft software – its Exchange email server software. That breach has been attributed to group that Microsoft calls Silk Typhoon, which is linked to China's Ministry of State Security. It is one of the most technically advanced hacking groups in the world and has been striking sensitive U.S. targets at an increased rate in the past year, The Post reported last week. Silk Typhoon has broken into multiple U.S. federal agencies in the past and more recently hit multiple ministries in Europe, The Post reported.
