Brexit allows UK to expand military presence abroad: Minister
Britain’s Secretary of Defense Gavin Williamson has said that leaving the European Union would allow his country to expand its military presence abroad and establish more bases in other countries.
Williamson said on Sunday that Brexit would enable Britain to re-assert itself as a global military power by extending its military presence to many more countries.
“This is our biggest moment as a nation since the end of the Second World War, when we can recast ourselves in a different way, we can actually play the role on the world stage that the world expects us to play,” he said in an interview with The Sunday Telegraph.
The comments come as many countries have suffered throughout the past century because of Britain’s military interventions.
Under the Labour-led government of Tony Blair, the UK intervened in two conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, while the succeeding Conservative-leader, David Cameron, authorized attacks on Libya in 2011.
Many have criticized the costly military interventions, saying they have tarnished Britain’s image in the world and have inflicted huge human losses on the British military.
However, Williamson, known for his pro-US positions when it comes to military affairs, said the British army was a major component of Britain’s quest to re-emerge in the global scene.
“This is our moment to be that true global player once more – and I think the armed forces play a really important role as part of that,” he said, adding that leaving the EU, which is planned for March 29, 2019, would be “our biggest moment as a nation since the end of the Second World War”.
The minister elaborated that one way of re-asserting Britain’s global position as a military power would be for the country to establish military bases in the Caribbean and Far East.
Britain has already been engaged in a slight stand-off with China over the disputed South China Sea. Beijing has repeatedly warned that London should avoid contributing to Washington's “provocations” in the region.
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