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MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The United Kingdom will propose to the countries in the Indo-Pacific to expand their military partnerships with London amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, UK Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said on Wednesday.
«Next week I will travel to the Shangri-La Security Conference in Singapore with a clear message that if our partners in the Indo-Pacific overlook illegal invasion in Europe it has consequences for international security everywhere … Which is why I will also offer to extend our military partnerships with countries in the Indo-Pacific,» Shapps said at a security conference in London.
He said he would reference AUKUS and the Global Combat Air Programme as cases of successful intercontinental security partnerships. At the same time, the British defense chief said it was «no longer tenable for European countries to expect the US to subsidise our security.»
Shapps expressed his frustration at the fact that only the UK and the US were striking at Houthi targets in the Red Sea, while the resulting safety of navigation was something enjoyed by stakeholders across Asia and Europe.
He said London was in need of not simply more partners but it also needed them «to be more committed,» with the outlook of eventually «converting commitment into capability» and encouraging its partners to «play a bigger role in support of the world order.»
