UK eyes greater military partnerships in region
Published:Tuesday | July 21, 2020 | 12:17 AMPaul Clarke/Gleaner Writer
The newly arrived United Kingdom (UK) defence attaché, Lt Col Simon Westlake, is viewing an improved budget as a positive sign of how the Ministry of Defence in London considers its relationship with the Caribbean.
He told The Gleaner that while the funds at his disposal to work with regional partners have been bumped up, “it is difficult to talk about how that will look going forward because that strategic review is going on at this very moment”.
He added that the review is also a sign that the UK and its regional partners are entering a new phase of defence and security arrangements.
Westlake, who takes over the reins from Lt Col Anton Gash, will be based in Jamaica for the next few years. He will have the responsibility of working with five British overseas territories and 14 broader Caribbean nations as part of the wider UK government support for its global partners.
This particular support, according to him, comes at an interesting time, largely because the UK is reassessing its strategic engagement with the Caribbean from a military perspective.
“It is about resetting, in an appropriate way, our relationship with our Caribbean partners and we have an immediate move, which I think is worth highlighting, that there has to be some prioritisation,” said Westlake.
He said the UK’s post-COVID-19 response will be driven by the outcome of the strategic review.
“If we look at the Royal Navy’s deployments to the region, the fact we have two ships here currently – the HMS Medway and the RFA Argus – that are here working with our recovery partners on counternarcotics, but are also ready to support in case there is a hurricane this season.
“We have forces in the UK that are training to be ready to be deployed to the region, if called to do so, to provide support in response to a case of hurricane, and so there are the visual signs of our enduring commitment, but then, of course, we are also looking at areas where we can develop our relationship moving forward,” Westlake said.
He stated that areas of support must be nestled in the areas of concern to the UK’s partners and align with UK objectives.
As an example, Westlake pointed to ongoing discussions between Jamaica and the UK in relation to Jamaica’s development of the Caribbean Military Academy (CMA).
“There were discussions with the commandant of the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst. So that is a good sign that we have the commandant himself discussing ways in which the UK can support Jamaica’s aspirations for the development of CMA,” he said.