We must be ready to use ‘hard power’ against Moscow and Beijing – UK defense chief

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Britain must be ready to use ‘hard power’ against Russia and China, defense chief Gavin Williamson said as London prepares to deploy its largest warship into contested Pacific waters.

The UK needs to strengthen its "lethality" and must be ready to "use hard power" to uphold it interests against nations like Russia and China, Secretary of State for Defense Gavin Williamson said on Monday.

Delivering a speech at the Royal United Services Institute in London, he accused "resurgent" Moscow of boosting its "military arsenal" to bring former Soviet states like Georgia and Ukraine "back into its orbit."

The UK defense chief lashed out at Beijing as well, warning the audience that China is "developing its modern capability and commercial power."

Williamson made the remarks as London prepares to send its largest warship, the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, to the South China Sea on a mission to enforce freedom of navigation rights.

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