UK's PM Confirms Plan to Boost Defense Spending to 2.5% of GDP

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets military personnel onboard HMS Iron Duke on December 17, 2024 in Tallinn, Estonia. (Photo by Leon Neal / POOL / AFP)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets military personnel onboard HMS Iron Duke on December 17, 2024 in Tallinn, Estonia. (Photo by Leon Neal / POOL / AFP)
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UK's PM Confirms Plan to Boost Defense Spending to 2.5% of GDP

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets military personnel onboard HMS Iron Duke on December 17, 2024 in Tallinn, Estonia. (Photo by Leon Neal / POOL / AFP)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets military personnel onboard HMS Iron Duke on December 17, 2024 in Tallinn, Estonia. (Photo by Leon Neal / POOL / AFP)

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer reiterated on Wednesday his Labour government's plan to increase defense spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product (GDP), after NATO called on members to boost spending to meet threats from Russia.

In an interview with LBC radio, Starmer was asked whether Britain would be willing to increase defense spending to 3% of GDP, but the leader repeated his government's position that it would plot a route to spending 2.5%.

"The commitment we've made is to set out a path to 2.5%," Reuters quoted him as saying. Starmer has said his government will set out that path next year
Last week, NATO head Mark Rutte warned the US-led alliance that it was not ready for the threats it would face from Russia in the coming years and called for a shift to a wartime mindset, with much higher defense spending beyond the 2% target.
US President-elect Donald Trump has called on NATO members to boost defense spending to 3% of economic output. The alliance estimates 23 of its 32 members will meet its target of dedicating 2% of GDP to defense this year.



Iran, Russia and China Hold Joint Naval Exercises in Gulf of Oman

An Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy missile corvette at sea during the “Maritime Security Belt 2024” combined naval exercise between Iran, Russia, and China in the Gulf of Oman, March 12, 2024. (Iranian Army office/AFP)
An Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy missile corvette at sea during the “Maritime Security Belt 2024” combined naval exercise between Iran, Russia, and China in the Gulf of Oman, March 12, 2024. (Iranian Army office/AFP)
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Iran, Russia and China Hold Joint Naval Exercises in Gulf of Oman

An Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy missile corvette at sea during the “Maritime Security Belt 2024” combined naval exercise between Iran, Russia, and China in the Gulf of Oman, March 12, 2024. (Iranian Army office/AFP)
An Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy missile corvette at sea during the “Maritime Security Belt 2024” combined naval exercise between Iran, Russia, and China in the Gulf of Oman, March 12, 2024. (Iranian Army office/AFP)

The navies of Iran, Russia and China will hold military drills in southeast Iran on the Gulf of Oman, this week in a bid to boost cooperation, Iranian media reported on Sunday.
The three countries, which share a common desire to counter what they characterize as US hegemony, have held similar exercises in the region in recent years.
The drills “will begin on Tuesday in the port of Chabahar,” located in southeast Iran on the Gulf of Oman, said the Tasnim news agency, a semi-official news agency in Iran associated with the Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
It did not specify their duration.
Iran’s official IRNA news agency said the exercise, codenamed “Security Belt 2025,” will kick off on Monday.
“Warships and combat and support vessels of the Chinese and Russian naval forces, as well as the warships of Iran’s naval forces of the army and the Revolutionary Guards” are expected to participate, according to AFP.
The exercises will take place “in the northern Indian Ocean” and aim to “strengthen security in the region and expand multilateral cooperation between participating countries,” Tasnim said.
Azerbaijan, South Africa, Oman, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Qatar, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and Sri Lanka will attend as observers.
China will deploy “a destroyer and a supply ship,” the Chinese Defense Ministry said on the WeChat social media network.
The Iranian army conducted drills in the same area in February to “strengthen defense capabilities against any threat.”
Tehran has in recent months announced new additions to its conventional weaponry, such as its first drone carrier and an underground naval base amid rising tensions with the US and its regional arch-enemy Israel.