The armed forces' most senior officer has called for the UK to consider new military alliances with countries in Africa and the Arab peninsula rather than trying to compete for influence over the emerging powers of China and India.
General Sir David Richards, chief of the defence staff, said in a world that looked "especially unpredictable and unstable" it was more important now than before to reach out beyond the obvious alliances to ensure the UK's security.
Richards said the UK and France were already working closely together and that other alliances should emerge. "As the world evolves, so new groupings will emerge. The most obvious is our alliance with the French. It is much more than the Entente Cordiale of a century ago. It is a vehicle for joint action.
"The UK will require other carefully chosen alliances over the coming decade through which to influence the strategic landscape and help determine the outcome of fast-moving crises.
"Already our collaboration with countries in the Gulf and Africa has delivered results in the region. Perhaps we should be focusing our defence relationships on these regions rather than competing for influence, with many others, in China or India."
Richards said that with the US saying explicitly for the first time that its main military focus was now in south-east Asia, it was time for the UK to "think through what this means to us".
In a speech at the Royal United Services Institute thinktank on Wednesday, Richards said Nato would remain "the most powerful military pact the world has ever known", but he warned that this would not be enough in the future.
General Sir David Richards, chief of the defence staff, said in a world that looked "especially unpredictable and unstable" it was more important now than before to reach out beyond the obvious alliances to ensure the UK's security.
Richards said the UK and France were already working closely together and that other alliances should emerge. "As the world evolves, so new groupings will emerge. The most obvious is our alliance with the French. It is much more than the Entente Cordiale of a century ago. It is a vehicle for joint action.
"The UK will require other carefully chosen alliances over the coming decade through which to influence the strategic landscape and help determine the outcome of fast-moving crises.
"Already our collaboration with countries in the Gulf and Africa has delivered results in the region. Perhaps we should be focusing our defence relationships on these regions rather than competing for influence, with many others, in China or India."
Richards said that with the US saying explicitly for the first time that its main military focus was now in south-east Asia, it was time for the UK to "think through what this means to us".
In a speech at the Royal United Services Institute thinktank on Wednesday, Richards said Nato would remain "the most powerful military pact the world has ever known", but he warned that this would not be enough in the future.
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