Ex-NATO chief George Robertson to lead a UK defense review, says China among 'deadly' challenges

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Former NATO leader George Robertson will lead a review of Britain’s military strategy to counter what he calls the “deadly quartet” of China, Iran, Russia and North Korea. He said spending would be “responsibly increased” to bolster Britain’s “hollowed-out armed forces.” The Ministry of Defense said the review would aim to strengthen U.K. homeland security, bolster Ukraine in its fight against Russia, and “modernize and maintain” Britain’s nuclear arsenal. Robertson told British reporters that the U.K. and its NATO allies were “confronted by a deadly quartet of nations, increasingly working together,” referring to Russia, Iran, North Korea and China. The U.K. has refrained from calling China a threat, with officials often referring to it as a “strategic challenge.” At a summit in Washington last week, the 32-nation Western military alliance called China a “decisive enabler” of Russia’s war against Ukraine, its most serious rebuke yet against Beijing.