All NATO members should increase defense spending to 2.5%, says UK defense chief

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - Britain’s defense secretary said Wednesday that all NATO members should increase their defense spending to 2.5% of their GDP in a "more dangerous world."

"We’re now saying we think that should be 2.5%. We think (that) in a more dangerous world, that would make sense," Grant Shapps told Sky News on defense spending of NATO countries.

He noted that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak would make the case at the upcoming NATO summit in Washington DC this summer.

"I will be arguing that, and I know that the prime minister feels strongly about it, when we go to the NATO 75th anniversary summit, which is in Washington DC," noted the defense secretary.

At a news conference with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at a military base in Poland, Sunak said Tuesday that he has fully funded plans to increase defense spending every year to 2.5% of the country's gross domestic product by 2030.

"National security is our first duty. The danger they pose is not new, but their collaboration and attempts to reshape the world order demand a robust response," he said, referring to "growing threats from Russia, Iran, North Korea, and China."

Increasing defense spending is among the top issues in NATO, highlighted by Stoltenberg, as less than a quarter of the members are meeting the alliance's target, according to the figures.