Poland has delivered a brutal warning to Britain: increase defence spending or risk fading into irrelevance on the world stage.<\/p>\n
Foreign Minister Rados\u0142aw Sikorski urged the UK Government to unveil a major defence spending plan at the upcoming NATO summit, warning that diplomacy without military strength carries little weight.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you want to be a global player, you need to back up your diplomacy with force,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEither you pay for it or it will wane.\u201d<\/p>\n
The warning comes as Britain faces mounting pressure over its delayed Defence Investment Plan, which was originally expected last year but remains<\/a> unpublished.<\/p>\n Mr Sikorski said Britain still possesses major advantages \u2014 including<\/a> intelligence capabilities, global influence and diplomatic reach \u2014 but questioned whether the country has the military power to match its ambitions.<\/p>\n Read more related news:<\/p>\n Defence Chief warns pay up or \u2018we will have to dial back our activities and our exercise\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n NATO warning for UK as US loses patience over defence spending<\/a><\/p>\n UK humiliated as Jarvis arrives at NATO HQ empty-handed with no \u00a328bn defence plan<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWhen push comes to shove, you either have the ships to send to the Gulf or the brigades to deploy<\/a> to Ukraine, or you don\u2019t,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The intervention comes as Poland rapidly expands its armed forces and emerges as one of NATO\u2019s biggest military spenders.<\/p>\n Warsaw is expected to spend around 4.8 per cent of GDP on defence this year \u2014 the highest proportion in the alliance \u2014 after more than doubling military spending since Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n By contrast, Britain is facing a major funding gap as NATO pushes members towards higher defence commitments.<\/p>\n The UK is currently expected to fall short of future NATO targets by tens of billions of pounds, with concerns growing that the country\u2019s military<\/a> capability is being stretched.<\/p>\n The crisis has already triggered political fallout, with former Defence Secretary John Healey resigning after warning that proposed funding was not enough to meet rising threats.<\/p>\n Mr Sikorski suggested the pressure felt in Poland\u2019s defence ministry was similar, joking that the biggest obstacle for defence chiefs is often the finance ministry.<\/p>\n His warning lands at a difficult moment<\/a> for Westminster, with Sir Keir Starmer\u2019s resignation creating further uncertainty ahead of the NATO summit.<\/p>\n As European allies increase spending in response to Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine, questions are intensifying over whether Britain can maintain its reputation as a leading military power without a dramatic increase in investment<\/a>.<\/p>\n