UK urged to increase defence spending over statements on Falklands
Labour Defence Committee chair Tan Dhesi has called on the UK government to raise defence spending to 3% of GDP by 2030 as soon as possible. He linked the need for such a decision to statements by Argentine President Javier Milei regarding the Falkland Islands, The Guardian World reports.
Dispute over defence spending
Dhesi said Prime Minister Andy Burnham and the chancellor should not postpone a decision on defence funding until next year. According to him, the UK must defend the Falkland Islands residents’ right to self-determination and respond to Argentina’s statements about its intention to take control of the archipelago.
During parliamentary questions on Wednesday, Dhesi asked Burnham whether he supported reaching the target of 3% of GDP for defence by 2030. The prime minister replied that he had made such a commitment, but Downing Street later clarified that this was not a firm promise. The estimated additional cost of achieving this goal, according to the publication, would be £10 billion per year.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
NATO target and Milei’s statements
Instead, the UK government joined NATO’s long-term target of spending 3.5% of GDP on defence by 2035. Dhesi said the prime minister’s office clarification after parliamentary questions confirmed that there was no agreement to reach 3% by 2030.
At the end of the week, US President Donald Trump suggested the possibility of changing the American position on British sovereignty over the islands, linking this to London’s lack of support for his war in Iran. After that, Milei spoke of “winds of change” favourable to Argentine claims and threatened to ban companies extracting oil near the islands without approval from the Argentine government from operating in Argentina.
British ministers on Friday condemned the Argentine president’s statements and stressed that the Falkland Islands would remain British as long as their residents wished so.
