1.     In recognition of the changed post-Cold War strategic environment, the Strategic Defence Review (SDR) provided a reassessment of Britain's security interests and defence needs, and considered how the roles, missions and capabilities of our Armed Forces should be adjusted to meet these new realities. The SDR concluded that the Ministry of Defence and our Armed Forces should not only defend the UK and its interests, but also be a force for good in the world, and help prevent and contain crises.

2.     Britain's Armed Forces, and civilians working in defence, have a long and proud record of providing support to conflict prevention through a wide range of activities. During the SDR, conflict prevention and peacetime diplomacy were acknowledged as being core defence activities. A new defence mission called Defence Diplomacy was created to give greater priority, impetus and coherence to these types of activities, and to ensure alignment with the Government's foreign and security policy objectives.

4.     Three specific Military Tasks underpin, and contribute most directly to, the Defence Diplomacy Mission :

a. MT16 - arms control, non-proliferation, and confidence and security building measures;

b. MT17 - Outreach activities designed to contribute to security and stability in Central and Eastern Europe, particularly Russia, but also extending to the Trans-Caucasus and Central Asia, through bilateral assistance and co-operation programmes;

c. MT18 - other Defence Diplomacy activities, covering military assistance programmes with overseas military forces and defence communities not covered under Outreach.

a. MOD training courses and education programmes, including opportunities for overseas students to attend courses at our military training establishments;

b. provision of Loan Service Personnel, Short Term Training Teams, and civilian and military advisers to overseas governments for extended periods;

c. visits by ships, aircraft and other military units;

d. inward and outward visits by Ministers and by military and civilian personnel at all levels;

e. staff talks, conferences and seminars to improve mutual understanding;

f. exchanges of civilian and military personnel;

g. exercises.

9.     The Defence Diplomacy initiative has given new emphasis to these activities, and reinforces the need to target efforts carefully, where they are needed most. Since the SDR we have conducted a wide range of activities in support of Defence Diplomacy objectives, in Europe and beyond. These include, most recently:

a.     Military Task 16: Arms Control, Non Proliferation, and Confidence and Security Building Measures.

i.     The Government has a deep commitment to arms control as a vital element in promoting Britain's security and wider international security and stability. The UK is party to a number of arms control agreements which have contributed significantly to lowering international tension. We are looking to build on these agreements to further develop international confidence and stability. MT16 makes a significant contribution to enhancing stability and security by reducing the potential for conflict, and replacing military confrontation with co-operation. This includes measures to eliminate certain types of weapons and their production, to limit numbers and deployments of weapons, to control the proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) and their means of delivery, to increase transparency and openness in military activity and build confidence. Our comprehensive approach to nuclear disarmament was set out in the SDR. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference in April/ May of this year reached consensus agreement, including a range of forward looking measures, for the first time since 1985. The success of this result, and the British role in achieving it have been widely acknowledged. A P5 de-targeting agreement was reached at the NPT Review Conference. As yet, no consensus has been reached on starting negotiations on a Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty.

A visiting Albanian inspection team is shown the Tornado GR1
cockpit during the Vienna Document inspection at RAF Marham

ii.     Following the recent Cross-Cutting Review, which was carried out as part of Spending Review 2000 and in which the MOD participated, funding has been made available, over three years, for nuclear safety and security in the former Soviet Union.  The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will manage the programmes that emerge. This funding will allow the UK to play its part in international efforts to tackle the immense problems in this important area. As a further part of the Spending Review, funding will also be made available, over three years, for high priority chemical demilitarisation and cooperative biological non-proliferation programmes in Russia.  This funding will be managed by MOD.

iii.     The signature of the adapted Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty (CFE) in November 1999 to reflect changes in the European security environment, was a conditional success, marred by Russia's breach of CFE limits in the North Caucasus.  As part of Alliance-wide policy, the timing of the UK's ratification is now dependent on Russia's return to compliance. Russian commitments to withdraw forces from Moldova and Georgia will also be a factor. In the last year the Joint Arms Control Implementation Group (JACIG) has provided expert support to NATO commanders during the Russian Vienna Document inspections of KFOR and AFOR, in Kosovo and Albania respectively, and the observation mission in Macedonia. An updated Vienna Document was adopted in November 1999 and came into effect on 1 January 2000.  In March 2000, following sustained UK bilateral assistance and encouragement, the Ukraine ratified the Open Skies Treaty. Our efforts are now focusing on encouraging Russia and Belarus to ratify the Treaty.

iv.     A high priority is being afforded to the effective implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). Together with the FCO, we are working bi-laterally with a number of states to clarify issues arising from their declarations of relevant facilities and activities. We continue to provide expert support to the FCO in negotiations in Geneva on an implementation Protocol to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention.

v.     The MOD works closely with the FCO to develop UK Government policy on disarming Iraq of WMD, focusing on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1284, which was developed from a UK initiative in December 1999.

vi.     Countering the proliferation of arms is another way in which we can help reduce the risk of conflict. We have been working on initiatives to enhance the effectiveness and the membership of the major export control regimes, such as the Missile Technology Control Regime, Australia Group, Nuclear Suppliers Group and the Wassenaar Arrangement. Our export control and non-proliferation programme has led to significant bilateral contacts with a wide range of nations including Russia, China, Iran, Belarus, the Baltic states, Ukraine, the UAE, Malta, Cyprus and Singapore (alongside other ASEAN states). We have also taken a leading role in the fourth (2000) review of the scope and operation of the UN Register of Conventional Arms.

vii.     The UK was one of the first countries to sign and ratify the Ottawa Convention banning the use of anti-personnel mines. The UK is also State Party to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) and will be playing an active part in the 2001 Review Conference. Discussions have taken place under the auspices of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on a possible new Protocol to the CCW on Explosive Remnants of War, in which the MOD has played an active part.

b.     Military Task 17: Outreach

The Government is committed to strengthening stability and security in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia by offering assistance with defence reform. From modest beginnings in the early 1990's, the Ministry of Defence now has a major programme, under the name Outreach, which, as a result of the Strategic Defence Review, is now a recognised Military Task.

i.     The Outreach programme was launched to engage the countries of the former Warsaw Pact and the former Yugoslavia in co-operative military relationships. Through a programme of bilateral, and in some cases multilateral, defence co-operation the MOD seeks to assist in the development of stable sovereign and democratic states throughout Central and Eastern Europe and also in Central Asia. We are now engaged in a wide range of activities with some twenty three countries in these regions.

ii.     Engaging Russia has always been a priority objective. Good progress was made in the second half of the 1990's, but in 1999 our developing military relationship, based on high level contacts and exchanges, suffered a setback. The Russians reacted to US/ UK action over Iraq and subsequent NATO action in Kosovo by first scaling down contacts and then cancelling all bilateral military events planned with the UK, along with co-operative programmes with other NATO countries. The Russians did not, however, extend this policy to the UK funded and co-ordinated Resettlement Programme to retrain former officers in civilian skills.

iii.     The Resettlement Programme, launched in October 1995, is a particular success. Nearly 10,000 retired Russian officers have been retrained so far at eight centres around Russia, and around 70% are estimated to have found long-term employment following re-training. During 1999, we offered to extend and expand this programme, and have since agreed in principle to the establishment of two new centres, details of which are currently being negotiated with the Russian Ministry of Defence.

iv.     Earlier this year, the Russian Ministry of Defence indicated that it was willing to re-commence a defence relationship with the UK, and we welcome this change in approach. The Secretary of State had a constructive bilateral meeting with his Russian counterpart in the margins of the NATO-Russia Permanent Joint Council meeting in Brussels in June 2000. The Russian Defence Minister visited the UK in December 2000.

A Polish Sukhoi fighter bomber flying in formation with RAF Jaguars
during a squadron visit to RAF Coltishall during summer 2000

v.     One aspect of the new defence relationship with the Russians has been the re-establishment of close links between the Royal Navy and the Russian Federation Navy (RFN). In July 2000 HMS SHEFFIELD paid a successful visit to St Petersburg, and HMS CORNWALL and HMS NEWCASTLE visited Vladivostok in August.

vi.     This relationship took a new turn in August 2000 when we learnt that a Russian submarine, the KURSK, had sunk in the Barents Sea. On hearing the news, the Ministry of Defence formally offered assistance to the Russians in the form of a specialised submarine search and rescue service. The Russians assembled a major rescue effort and accepted our offer of assistance. Sadly, all on board were declared dead, by specialist Norwegian divers who were also aiding the Russian rescue effort, and the British team was not after all called upon to assist further. We have expressed, to the highest levels of the Russian Ministry of Defence, our sincere sadness at the loss of all those on board the KURSK.

Elsewhere the Outreach programme has been successful, notably through:

vii.     developing a major programme of English Language Training (ELT), partly funded by the FCO, as a basic step towards achieving interoperability of armed forces and to facilitate the greatest possible exchange of ideas and advice on defence issues; 

viii.     the attachment of five civilian defence advisers engaged in assisting defence reform in host nation Ministries of Defence. Currently we have defence advisers in Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Slovenia. Most of them are engaged on helping to develop planning, programming and budgeting systems. As a result of our success with ELT, the working language is English;

ix.     the attachment of five military defence advisers, some involved in advising on the development of NATO Membership Action Plans (MAPs), others in a range of training activities, based in Estonia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Romania and Slovakia;

x.     chairing the Baltic Security Assistance (BALTSEA) forum, aiming to facilitate co-ordination of bilateral defence assistance to the Baltic States, and comprising the Baltic States and the 14 countries which provide defence assistance to the region. Our chairmanship concluded with a successful conference at the Royal Military College of Science at Shrivenham in September 1999, which included constructive dialogue on future objectives and responsibilities of the group. We remain active participants; 

xi.     continuing our extensive bilateral programmes with all three Baltic States, and our contribution to the training element of the Joint Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian Baltic Battalion. We have also supported other multinational projects, including the highly successful Baltic Defence College, where MOD has provided a member of the academic staff and the Baltic Naval Squadron (BALTRON), where MOD has provided a Royal Navy officer to provide advice on operational efficiency and effectiveness;

xii.     giving greater impetus to our bilateral defence relations with Albania, Georgia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Uzbekistan, Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina through high level visits;

xiii.     a substantial new development this year has been the establishment of the British Military Assistance Training Team (BMATT) for the Central and Eastern Europe region. This is based at the Czech Armed Forces Training Station at Vyskov whose co-operation we are grateful for in helping us to establish the permanent location for the team. The team consists of 24 Army and Royal Marine personnel and will provide training both at Vyskov and throughout Central and Eastern Europe to 16 of our partner countries. The BMATT is initially concentrating on infantry training tactics, continuing the existing and very successful Outreach principle of 'training the trainer'. The first course, for 60 junior officers from up to thirteen countries, commenced in mid September 2000, lasting for eleven weeks;

xiv.     Programmes of assistance with the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland originally formed part of the Outreach programme. Under Outreach, this assistance included the attachment of two civilian defence advisers in Hungary and Poland, and one military defence adviser to the Czech Republic. These advisers remain. They are involved in assisting host nation Ministries of Defence with defence reform and armed forces' restructuring. Examples of other activities funded at this time include:

• places at the Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) and the Joint Services Command and Staff College, to widen understanding about global security issues and modern military thinking;

• interoperability training and exercises between UK and Czech Army units affiliated to NATO's Allied Command Europe Rapid Reaction Corps;

• briefing, discussion and training in areas such as military doctrine, career planning, crisis management, dealing with the media and defence planning and programming;
  

Since their accession to NATO, MOD has continued to provide bilateral defence assistance to these countries but through separate programmes. These programmes will be aimed at providing assistance to achieve NATO integration and interoperability.

c.     Military Task 18: Other Defence Diplomacy Activities

Defence Diplomacy extends beyond Europe, reflecting the UK's commitment to increasing international security and stability and preventing conflict world-wide. In parallel with our expanding Outreach programme, we are expanding the scope and coverage of Defence Diplomacy programmes elsewhere, particularly in the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa regions. The past year has seen some significant activity in support of meeting these objectives, including:

i.     successful resumption of UK/ Bahrain Defence Staff Talks which are designed to improve the interoperability of our Armed Forces. Following the talks, the UK and Bahrain have developed a programme of bilateral activities focussed on air training
exercises and co-operation in specialist military training.

a.     the launch of a post-doctoral Research Fellowship in Defence Diplomacy, the first of which was awarded to a Russian national, who has taken up appointment at the Centre for Defence Studies at King's College, London;

b.     the launch of the Defence Diplomacy Scholarship Scheme at Shrivenham in October 1999. The course provides an opportunity for military officers and defence civilians to study for either an MSc in Global Security, or diploma in "Managing Defence in a Democracy". 12 students were funded by the DAF on the first MSc course, and 25 DAF funded students completed the diploma course in March 2000;

c.     developing increasingly close links with academia on a broad range of issues relevant to the further development of Defence Diplomacy. For example, we have embarked on some work to develop appropriate methodology to evaluate the benefits of our assistance programmes.

11.     Cross-Cutting Reviews on Conflict Prevention. MOD, FCO and DFID all have a major interest and role in conflict prevention and crisis management. But although there has always been a considerable degree of co-operation between the three Departments, each has hitherto set its own objectives and priorities in this field, and has devised and funded its own programmes to achieve them. This is now changing. As part of the 2000 Spending Review, a number of Cross-Cutting Reviews examined areas of Government activity that involved different Departments. Two of these reviews addressed conflict prevention, in sub-Saharan Africa and the rest of the world respectively. They concluded that in future the Departments concerned should address conflict prevention issues collectively, in a more formal and systematic way than before. The MOD will work with the FCO, DFID, Treasury and Cabinet Office to develop detailed arrangements for implementing this new approach, under the supervision of the Cabinet Ministers concerned. This will mean setting joint objectives and priorities for action, and pooling resources from which agreed priorities will be funded. These resources will be ring-fenced, to ensure that they cannot be diverted to Departments' non-conflict prevention activities, and their use will be determined and monitored collectively. We believe that this new way of working across Departmental boundaries will enable the Government to make an increasingly effective contribution to conflict prevention.

Elsewhere, defence advisers provide a cost effective means of exerting influence. We have agreed to provide a military defence adviser to Estonia early in 2001. Our recently established BMATT in the Czech Republic will continue to develop its activities to meet the continuing high level of demand for assistance with NCO training. The bulk of trainees are likely to come from Central and Eastern European countries outside NATO.

c.     Other Defence Diplomacy Activities. We plan a number of important initiatives, some funded jointly by the FCO and DFID, in support of Defence Diplomacy objectives elsewhere in the world. These include:

i.     a programme of higher level visits and training;

A soldier from the Royal Anglian Regiment training
new recruits to the Sierra Leone Army

ii.     continuation of the 2000-01 Argentine Military Contacts Programme agreed in July 2000, as part of our continued engagement with Argentina. The next talks will take place in May 2001 in Buenos Aires;

iii.     continuing improvement of relations with Chile, that culminated in 2000 in the re-establishment of formal staff talks. The Vice Chief of the Defence Staff visited Chile in October 2000, whilst the Chilean Minister of Defence has been invited to visit London in early 2001. The Royal Navy also hope to take up an invitation to participate in Exercise TEAMWORK SOUTH 2001;

iv.     further deployment by HM ships, including the next round the world deployment specifically to cover Asia and the Pacific regions in 2003;

v.     the establishment of a Task Force, at the request of the Prime Minister, to develop proposed options for a new partnership between Africa and the developed world. This approach will be known as the Africa Partnership Initiative, and an inter-departmental Task Force has formed to take proposals forward. The MOD is represented on the Task Force and will lead on one of the six areas of work: conflict prevention and resolution.

vi.     planned rapprochement with Indonesia, following the East Timor crisis of 1999, and the establishment of a security sector reform programme;

13.     Other initiatives that are likely to be taken forward in the future to support a more proactive and effective approach to Defence Diplomacy include:

a.     further development of the Defence Diplomacy Scholarship Scheme, including provision of more places on future academic programmes and exploring possibilities for 'exporting' components of the course on a regional basis;

b.     engagement with academia on work related to the analysis of the causes of conflict. There is growing acknowledgement of the importance of a co-ordinated and effective approach to forecasting, preventing, managing and resolving conflict; this work provides an opportunity to develop a better understanding of conflict. In this regard, work is already being taken forward by MOD on "environmental stresses and security". This work focuses on one specific aspect of this agenda - the impact of environmental stresses, including shortages of natural resources such as water, on security and stability. However, much of the project will be relevant to the wider debate on security stresses and conflict prevention;

c.     scoping potential opportunities to formalise the delivery of some of our short-term in-country defence management assistance programmes through the establishment of permanent expert advisory teams;

d.     providing further opportunities for study in the UK through our Defence Diplomacy Fellowship, and utilising this expertise to assist in the further development of Defence Diplomacy;

e.     exploring with other Government Departments, whether there are opportunities to do more in building capacity in regional security organisations where there are acknowledged deficiencies (in areas such as the secretariat function and crises management planning) through the delivery of a variety of assistance programmes, including advisory visits and secondments of personnel;

f.     developing a "cadre" of civilian and military personnel with appropriate ability and experience to meet the likely increase in demand for in-country advisers, which we will wish to encourage in future years.