World facing ‘extraordinary and profound’ geopolitical crises, says UK armed forces chief

Britain should not look the other way, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin said in Royal United Services Institute speech

Chief of Defence Admiral Sir Tony Radakin. PA

The head of Britain's armed forces has warned the world is seeing a “generational struggle for the future of the global order”.

With tension rising between the West and Russia, Iran, North Korea and China, “these are extraordinarily dangerous times”, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin said.

“As 2022 draws to a close, we have a world in which four separate geopolitical crises are unfolding in parallel," he said during a speech at the Royal United Services Institute in London on Wednesday.

“Whether it’s [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s sense of impunity, Iran’s meddlesome and destabilising behaviour, North Korea’s outright belligerence or an increasingly authoritarian China.

“None of these challenges exist in isolation.

“Each is connected. Each represents a test of the rules that have guaranteed global security and enabled the spread of prosperity and opportunity throughout our lifetimes, and in aggregate, are extraordinary and profound.”

Despite the gloomy assessment, Admiral Radakin said the UK and the West “can take confidence from the response”.

A look at the Nato military alliance - in pictures

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  A solemn welcoming ceremony of US soldiers at Adazi military base, Latvia, on February 25, 2022. More than 300 soldiers of the 173rd Air Force Brigade arrived to demonstrate the US commitment to defend Nato allies and strengthen Latvia's defence capabilities following Russia's military operation in Ukraine. EPA

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  US paratroopers in Ukraine's western Lviv region during a Nato-sponsored training exercise in 2020. AP

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  A US military aircraft takes off at the US Air Base Ramstein, in Landstuhl, Germany, on February 25. US President Joe Biden February 24 authorised the deployment of further armed forces to Germany as part of Nato's response to Russia's military aggression on Ukraine. EPA

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  Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on February 25. EPA

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  A convoy of British armoured vehicles of the Royal Welsh Battlegroup on the way to Estonia, driving through Liepupe, Latvia, on February 25. British troops and equipment are heading to Estonia as part of the UK's contribution to strengthen Nato's uplift to Eastern Europe. EPA

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  Protesters outside a Nato leaders virtual summit in Brussels on February 25. AP

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  A US Air Force F-35 Lightning II aircraft assigned to the 34th Fighter Squadron receives fuel from a KC-10 Extender aircraft over Poland on February 24. US Air Force/Reuters

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  US military personnel check an Apache attack helicopter AH-64 during a technical stop on the tarmac at Traian Vuia International Airport in Timisoara, Romania, on February 24. EPA

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  German soldiers of the Nato enhanced Forward Presence (EFP) Battalion Battle Group in Lithuania attend a ceremony during a visit of German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht to Rukla Military Base, Lithuania, on February 22. EPA

In his bid to divide the world, Mr Putin “has unintentionally assembled an extraordinary coalition of democracies against him”.

“The result is Russia is losing. And the world is winning," Admiral Radakin said.

“Russia has failed — and will continue to fail — in all its war aims. Russia is diminished on the world stage.”

He said Russia faced a “critical shortage of artillery munitions”, meaning the ability of its forces to conduct successful ground offences “is rapidly diminishing”.

“The biggest lesson from the past year is to recognise that we are part of a generational struggle for the future of the global order,” Admiral Radakin said.

He advised Britain not to “look the other way”.

“We’ve seen what happens when countries look away. Authoritarians are emboldened. Rules get broken, economic turmoil and global insecurity follow. And we all pay the price.”