JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. – British Defense Minister Michael Fallon took time Wednesday at a meeting of counter-Islamic State (ISIL) member states to reaffirm his nation’s commitment to that fight and to NATO following its decision to exit the European Union.
Fallon’s comments came a day before Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump told the New York Times he would not necessarily come to the aid of NATO in the event of a Russian invasion, repudiating the Article 5 guarantee that an attack on one alliance member is an attack on all.
Fallon has since responded that the collective security that NATO provides is contingent upon unconditional commitment by all members. He interrupted questions from reporters to assert the U.K.’s ongoing commitment to the alliance and the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“This is part of us recommitting to our leadership role following the referendum,” Fallon told reporters after a meeting of more than 30 defense ministers here July 20.
The U.K has pledged to double the number of troops deploying to Iraq from 250 to 500. At a NATO summit earlier in the month in Warsaw, Poland, the U.K. took responsibility for one of four battalions the alliance will station in the Baltic nations as a deterrent to Russia.
At Farnborough, the U.K. announced it would spend $6 billion on nine P-8A maritime patrol aircraft and 50 AH-64 Apache attack helicopters. It also has signaled intention of boosting its contributions to the ongoing mission in Afghanistan by 10 percent, upping its troop level from 450 to 500 soldiers. On Monday, the British Parliament voted for the first time in nearly a decade to renew and modernize its nuclear deterrent force, which includes the Trident submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM).
“Since the referendum we are demonstrating that, far from stepping back from the world, we are stepping up, although we are leaving the European Union,” Fallon said.
NATO has had a rough couple of weeks beginning with the so-called “Brexit” referendum. Then reverberations from a failed coup in Turkey, one of the largest NATO countries and a key ally in the counter-ISIL fight, had not settled when Trump suggested his administration would not honor U.S. NATO commitments if other members do not pull their weight.
Trump already has declared NATO obsolete in interviews preceding his formal nomination as the Republican nominee for president.
The United States provides about a fifth of NATO’s working capital and about three quarters of its direct military spending. All NATO states have pledged to contribute at least 2 percent of their gross domestic products to defense by 2024. So far only five NATO members, including the United States, meet that mark.
Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves took to Twitter this week to remind his followers that the only time Article 5 has been invoked was after 9/11 when NATO allies rallied to the defense of the United States.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg issued a statement to media outlets in response to reports of Trump’s comments, though he did not mention the candidate by name. He has repeatedly declined to comment directly on the U.S. election as NATO has periodically gained attention.
“Solidarity among allies is a key value for NATO,” Stoltenberg said in a statement. “This is good for European security and good for U.S. Security. We defend one another.”