Press release, 28 July 2025.  It  is refreshing and indicative that the UK is still operating militarily worldwide as an independent country. That is the message Foreign Secretary, David Lammy,  was emphasising when being photographed on Monday in Australian waters on the flight deck of Britain’s aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales accompanied by Penny Wong, the Australian Foreign Minister. It is the first time this has been done for nearly three decades.

The UK is definitely seen by the US as effectively deploying maritime forces to where they value a British naval contribution, namely in the Indo-Pacific maritime areas.  A not unimportant reason for President Trump deciding to retain US forces in Europe recently  I daresay was he knew  he could tell American citizens that the UK, outside a strictly European defence budget, was  also determined to help the US  strengthen its maritime links and engineering expertise with Australia and New Zealand as well as contributing  our own forces at a time when Chinese forces, particularly their Navy, are building up fast.

Ever since I was Under Secretary for the Royal Navy in 1968 -1970 I was pushing with the Admiralty Board for a “ through deck cruiser,“ a euphemism for a smaller aircraft carrier which Denis Healey, then Defence Secretary, had been forced to cancel.

As Foreign Secretary, under Prime Minister Jim Callaghan, I got agreement in 1977 for deploying  a nuclear powered submarine in secret to the Falklands with ‘rules of engagement’ on how to act if the Argentinian Navy  looked ready to invade the Falklands. They were already interfering in regional fishing rights. Unfortunately no British  submarine was in a position anywhere near to intervening militarily when the Argentinians did invade the Falklands in 1982.  We now have a fully equipped airfield handling sophisticated British fighter aircraft on the Falklands.

We also have UK aircraft carriers again, potentially acting with UK nuclear-powered submarines and contributing with US forces in Chinese waters.

It was very important therefore that the Defence Secretary, John Healey, was also there in Australia with the Foreign Secretary to sign with Richard Marles,  Australia’s  deputy Prime Minister, a five-decade Treaty that the AUKUS submarine pact involving the US  and the UK will ensure that Australia has a fleet of five nuclear powered submarines built around British, US and Australian technology.

These are the political reminders that the UK has independent worldwide political and economic interests, often shared with the US, that we are ready to defend.

Democratic Europe  – not all the EU  – now plans on increasing its defence spending, though Spain is falling far behind what their allies expect. Some will do it nationally, some will do it mostly through NATO’s planning process including the US.  The UK will do it as an independent nation and flexibly: in association on procurement with the EU  through NATO primarily but also with the US and  alongside Australia  and New Zealand worldwide.