Op-Ed: A competitive age needs a well-resourced team

Whether it’s a local friendly game or professional sport at the highest level, competitiveness always ramps up for Australia versus the UK. This ‘mate against mate’ rivalry endures across codes, creating absolutely iconic sporting moments. Shane Warne bowling Mike Gatting with the ball of the century at Old Trafford.  Johnny Wilkinson’s last gasp drop goal to beat Australia in the Rugby World Cup. Australia’s football team outmatching two England line-ups to prevail 3-1 at Upton Park. 

These are competitive memories forged in the fires of friendship, but away from the sporting field, the integrity of global competition requires teamwork, now more than ever. The world is fragmenting between sovereign democracies and autocratic regimes who threaten democracy, global norms and the rule of law. 

Recent weaponisation of trade policy against Australia is just one example of consequences of this systemic competition. In this new global order, not all the competitors will play by the rules. As we say in the UK, that’s just not cricket.   

The recently published Integrated Review Global Britain in a competitive age sets out our international strategy to address global competition for this decade and beyond. It is a statement of who we are. We will be a force for good in the world, helping to shape the international order of the future, defending open societies and human rights, combating climate change, eliminating poverty and championing free trade.

Sitting under the Integrated Review is the Defence Command Paper, Defence in a Competitive Age, which describes the crucial role of Defence in delivering the aims of our 10-year strategy. This is not just rhetoric. We have committed to spending £188 billion on Defence over the coming four years, including £85 billion alone on equipment. This increase comfortably exceeds the NATO target to spend 2 per cent of GDP on defence and marks our biggest investment in defence since the end of the Cold War. An overarching vision, a clear defence plan, and robust resourcing – this is ends, ways and means. 

Fundamentally, the Defence Command Paper recognises that we must change our approach and posture if we are to be ‘match fit’ for this era of systemic competition. We must adopt a more global posture, with our Armed Forces more agile, more engaged and more committed; being used and useful rather than being held at home, at readiness as contingency forces. 

By being constantly engaged, we can support our partners, fill vacuums that might be filled by less benign rivals, signal our intent and deter malign activity – recognising that modern deterrence must also succeed below the threshold of conflict. We must be ready for competition to escalate into conflict and we will therefore retain our full-spectrum capability and continue to invest in our nuclear and high-end warfighting capabilities – these are the cornerstones of deterrence. 

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As the future battlefield changes, when cyber space becomes a new frontier for example, we must also modernise. Success in the future will require full multi-domain integration across the five operational domains; enabled and networked through a fully digital back-bone; mixing crewed and autonomous platforms; and capable of generating mass while surviving and operating in an environment where it is harder to hide and dispersal will be key. 

The Defence Command Paper delivers on both demands. It introduces the multiple Sunrise capabilities that will be vital to our modernisation and essential to delivering our warfighting credibility. It also ensures we will have the capabilities to enable us to engage, compete and deter below the threshold of conflict – across all domains, with agility and endurance.   

For Australia, the Integrated Review and Defence Command Paper offer much. They recognise the critical importance of the Five Eyes relationship and the necessity to integrate our national efforts with those of allies and partners – our cohesion will be a critical strength. They highlight the growing importance of the Indo-Pacific to the UK’s interests and commit us to a greater level of engagement here. 

The announcement of the 28-week maiden deployment of the Queen Elizabeth carrier strike group to the region will be a start, but we are committed to a more persistent presence in her wake: in the maritime domain, working with ASEAN members and other regional partners, and in support of the FPDA. We will look to exploit fully the opportunities to work with Australia in the region, collaborating, burden sharing and reinforcing our shared objectives.

The opportunities for capability collaboration are also rich. This is as true for the many platforms that we already share or that will soon enter service – learning lessons and building interoperability – as it is for the next generation capabilities and the innovation that both countries are committed to deliver the competitive advantage we seek. The Global Combat Ship collaboration provides an example where, along with Canada, our T26 and Hunter frigate programs will deliver a world-leading anti-submarine warfare capability and generational partnership.

While sport is ultimately a crude analogy, in an era of systemic global competition, we know we must be ‘match fit’ and work as a team. With the Integrated Review, Defence Command Paper and Spending Review settlement, the UK is committed, engaged, modernised and equipped to work with Australia and other partners across the region to protect and deter.

Vicki Treadell is the British high commissioner to Australia.