John Baron MP questions Defence Minister over Defence Diplomacy

MP welcomes ‘up-gunning’ of Defence Attachés

Today in the House of Commons, during Defence Questions, John Baron MP asked Julian Brazier MP, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the MoD, about defence diplomacy. This often takes the form of joint military exercises with allied forces, personnel exchange programmes or diplomatic contacts between defence attachés.

In the House of Commons, John asked,

“Defence diplomacy is a key component of Britain’s ‘soft power’ capability. What steps are the Government taking at the MoD to foster and encourage this aspect of our international relations?”

The Minister responded that the MoD was ‘up-gunning’ the role of defence attachés in our diplomatic posts worldwide, including by providing more language training and career prospects, as a means of encouraging defence diplomacy.

Afterwards, John said,

“Defence diplomacy forms a central part of Britain’s ‘soft power’ armoury, and can build links and relationships which traditional diplomacy is unable to reach. I am therefore pleased the MoD is taking these positive steps.”

“However, the Government is reducing spending on other soft power institutions such as the BBC World Service and the British Council. In today’s increasingly crowded international media, ‘winning the story’ is becoming as important as winning the battle.”