Brexit should not divide Europe’s two leading maritime powers
SIR – Whatever form Brexit may take, no one expects the United Kingdom’s core values to change in the coming decades. Neither will its security interests.
While misunderstandings about France’s role in the Brexit negotiations sometimes affect the way my country is perceived in the UK, we will always remain a strong and reliable military partner, and certainly the UK’s closest in Europe in terms of ethos, scale and ambition.
There is no doubt that the vast majority of threats to either France or the UK would equally be of primary concern to the other. As an example of this, after the chemical attack in Salisbury, France was a leading advocate within the EU of condemning Russia.
As two long-standing maritime powers, the UK and France share strong interests in one of our century’s primary strategic arenas. Our world’s oceans are today subject to unprecedented competition, rivalry and predation. More worryingly, the consensus-based, internationally recognised maritime law is at risk, and is increasingly ignored by authoritarian regimes who are showing a growing appetite for expanding their territories, naval capabilities and maritime reach.
In this context, France, with its long-lasting naval presence in the Western Pacific Ocean, welcomes the Royal Navy’s recent and significant reinvestment in that region, which is not only vital but symbolic for international security and trade.
Interestingly, this change is happening at a time when the UK, with HMS Queen Elizabeth, is re-joining the exclusive club of aircraft-carrier nations. With this, our countries’ strong co-operation can expand further and a record number of “exchange officers” will serve in each other’s combat units.
We cannot allow Brexit and its side effects to weaken the natural strategic convergence between Europe’s two main naval powers. This is of paramount importance at a time when the global maritime arena is witnessing growing tensions. Vice-Admiral Patrick Chevallereau (retd) Former Defence Attaché at the French Embassy in London
RUSI Senior Associate Fellow
SIR – The Attorney General’s legal advice on the Prime Minister’s Brexit plan, as reported by Fraser Nelson (October 26), makes uncomfortable reading. If the report is accurate, one wonders how any Cabinet Minister can allow negotiations to continue on the basis of such a potentially disastrous strategy.
Surely it is the duty of those who profess to believe in Brexit to use all means at their disposal to try, even at this late stage, to avoid the predicted “circle-of-hell” situation, even if that means mass resignations. Defending the country’s best interests must come before considerations of personal and party fortunes. John Waine
Nuneaton, Warwickshire