UK intends to establish persistent military presence in Indo-pacific: Gen. Nicholas Carter

UK Chief of the Defence Staff General Nicholas Carter informed on Tuesday, October 19, that the country intends to establish a "persistent" military presence in the Indo-pacific region. Speaking at a podcast organised by the Centre for a New American Security, Carter said that the visit of the warships to the region will not be on a regular basis but will rather be episodic, news agency Sputnik reported.

General Carter further remarked that the United Kingdom has had a long-standing relationship with numerous countries in the region, dating back to the British Empire and said that London maintained an elite jungle warfare school in Brunei, on the island of Borneo.

"In due course, friends and partners will be able to attend our jungle warfare school in Brunei. We have always had a large number of servicemen and women from these nations, besides having at least 350 Gurkhas as staff. We are going to build on those lengthy associations," Carter was quoted as saying by Sputnik.

He also clarified that the UK's planned expansion to the Indo-pacific region will not be accompanied by any reduction in London's contribution to and participation in NATO.

Meanwhile, India and the United Kingdom had their first maritime discussion, during which they addressed maritime cooperation, as well as Indo-Pacific, regional, and multilateral cooperation.

UK, US and Australia's military pact on Indo-Pacific cooperation

Notably, last month, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States signed a security arrangement, AUKUS, to "ensure peace and stability" in the Indo-Pacific region. The announcement came as Australia unilaterally withdrew from a $66 billion deal with France's Naval Group for the delivery of 12 diesel submarines, opting instead for the provision of nuclear-powered vessels through the AUKUS alliance. 

In AUKUS's project, the US and the UK have committed to help Australia in developing and deploying nuclear-powered submarines. The initial talks of the AUKUS deal began at the G7 Summit hosted by the UK in June 2021 and the AUKUS pact was announced on 15 September. The trilateral military pact was signed with an aim to protect the Indo-Pacific from China’s dominance and shield the post-1945 global order.

(Image: AP/ANI)