Britain sends air force to the North Atlantic. Keir Starmer: 'We have to be ready to fight'

Great Britain will deploy “this year” an aircraft group in the North Atlantic and in the Far North, as part of a security mission alongside the United States, Canada and other NATO allies, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Saturday in Munich, reports AFP and BBC, quoted by News.ro.

“I can announce today that the United Kingdom will this year deploy its naval aircraft group to the North Atlantic and the Far North, centered on the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales, which will operate alongside the United States, Canada and other NATO allies,” the Labor leader told the Munich Security Conference (MSC).

He qualified this decision as “a strong demonstration of (British) commitment to Euro-Atlantic security”.

HMS Prince of Wales is the second aircraft carrier of the Queen Elizabeth class and the flagship of the British Royal Navy. Commissioned in 2019, it can carry up to 48 F-35B Lightning II multi-role fighter jets and Merlin helicopters for air early warning and anti-submarine warfare. In emergency conditions, it can transport more than 70 F-35B aircraft. The project emphasizes flexibility, with accommodation for 250 Royal Navy soldiers and the ability to support them with attack and troop transport helicopters.

In the question-and-answer session at the Munich Conference, Starmer was asked about Greenland and whether he believes that US threats to the territory are now definitively a thing of the past. He replied that he was satisfied “that now a dialogue process is underway, as it should be”.

Arctic security is “very important to all of us” and “we need to do more,” Starmer added. “Throughout Europe, we have remained faithful to the values ​​and principles regarding sovereignty,” he pointed out.

“We cannot replace all US capabilities”

In his speech at the MSC on Saturday, Starmer defended the alliance with the US, but said that Europe must take “primary responsibility” for its own defense in order to strengthen the alliance, The Guardian reported.

Starmer said the US is an “indispensable ally” of Europe, with an “unparalleled” contribution to the continent's security.

“We recognize that things are changing,” he continued, referring to the US national security strategy's suggestion to shift its focus away from Europe. “Europe must take primary responsibility for its own defense, this is the new normal,” he emphasized.

On the other hand, Starmer said, “there is no point in pretending that we can simply replace all US capabilities,” but “we should focus on diversification and reducing some dependencies,” he said. “We should make generational investments that will take us from overdependence to interdependence,” he added.

The British Prime Minister has “a vision of European security and greater European autonomy that does not announce the withdrawal of the US, but responds to the call for a greater division of tasks.”

But the British Prime Minister reaffirmed the United Kingdom's commitment to Article 5, assuring that “if requested, the United Kingdom would come to the aid of” the allies today.

“We are no longer the UK of the Brexit years”

Starmer says that for many years, for most people in Britain, war was something distant, something of deep concern but happening far away', but now the 'solidity of peace' has 'weakened'. Leaders must anticipate the “alarm signals” from Russia and prepare for what may come next, he said. “All the warning signs are there. Russia has proven its appetite for aggression, causing terrible suffering to the Ukrainian people. Its hybrid threats are expanding across our continent, not only threatening our security, but destroying our social contract, collaborating with populists who undermine our values, using disinformation to sow division, using cyber attacks and sabotage to disrupt our lives and deepen the crisis.” the cost of living”, listed the British Prime Minister.

In his opinion, Russia “made a huge strategic mistake” in Ukraine, continues to rearm and, according to NATO, could be ready to use force against the alliance “by the end of this decade.”

Even if a peace agreement is reached in Ukraine, “the wider danger to Europe will not end there”, but will grow, he warned.

“We are not looking for conflict,” but we must “face these threats,” Starmer pointed out. “We must be able to deter aggression and, yes, if necessary, we must be prepared to fight, to do whatever is necessary to protect our people, our values ​​and our way of life,” pleaded the British prime minister.

He added that Europe must be able to stand on its own, and that means “putting aside petty politics and short-term concerns” and focusing on collaboration. This means “acting together to build a stronger Europe and a more European NATO, supported by deeper ties between the United Kingdom and the EU”, said the British Prime Minister, 10 years after Brexit.

“We are no longer the Britain of the Brexit years. We must look outwards and collaborate with our European neighbors to maintain the security of our country. There is no British security without Europe and no European security without Great Britain,” Keir Starmer wrote on X, posting a photo from the MSC in which he is discussing with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.