I thank my right hon. Friend very much. The increase that we have seen in our defence spending is unparalleled in modern times. It is the biggest uplift since the cold war—£24 billion. I think everybody can see the value of that and the importance of that, and, by the way, it is enabling us to take part in this historic partnership in the way that we are. On his point about our relationship with China, I just want to be clear with the House. Yes, it is true that this a huge increase in the levels of trust between the US, the UK and Australia—it is a fantastic defence technology partnership that we are building—but from the perspective of our friends and partners around the world, it is not actually revolutionary. We already have been co-operating over, for instance, the Collins class submarines in Australia.
AUKUS
Proceeding contribution from
Boris Johnson
(Conservative)
in the House of Commons on Thursday, 16 September 2021.
It occurred during Ministerial statement on AUKUS.
Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
700 c1122 
Session
2021-22
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
Librarians' tools
Timestamp
2021-10-22 18:59:16 +0100
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