[CDD0008]

Written Evidence submitted by the Ministry of Defence

The Ministry of Defence welcomes the HCDC Inquiry into Cultural Defence Diplomacy as a useful independent assessment of our activity.

Question 1. What role do cultural events and institutions play in supporting the UK’s aims when it comes to defence diplomacy? What is its value to the UK’s position in the world?

1. From music festivals and touring bands, to parades and displays, State duties, international conferences, and Professional Military Education, Defence continually promotes the UK and the value it brings to the social, cultural, and military fabric of domestic life as well as underpinning internationally the values of democracy, opportunity, and respect for the rules-based order.

2. Signature set pieces such as the Mountbatten Festival of Music, the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT), and the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo (REMT) demonstrate the reach of Defence cultural activity across the UK, bringing engagement and entertainment to all corners of the Union. Bands and Ceremonies are also a cultural selling point overseas; deployments last between a few days and a few weeks, and specialist advisors may be overseas for several months delivering focussed training.

3. The RAF Aerobatics Team (RAFAT), the Red Arrows, conducts regular international tours, providing soft power projection through displays and flypasts. Most recently, RAFAT supported the opening activities of 2022 World Cup (WC22) in Qatar with a staged VVIP flypast at Doha as part of their Middle East tour, in addition to a wider RAF contribution to Qatari Air Policing operations in that same period.

4. The Armed Forces also deliver key State Ceremonial and Public Duties, which contribute in part to the ‘Global Britain’ brand. A range of ceremonial and state activities, such as Public Duties at His Majesty’s Palaces, State visits, State Opening of Parliament, and Remembrance week serve to uphold the traditions of the UK alongside demonstrating our core democratic principles.

5. Defence hosts a range of soft diplomacy events such as the Army’s Land Warfare Conference at which around 60 overseas Army Chiefs are in attendance, the Defence & Security Equipment International (DSEI) expo each year showcasing Defence Industry to international delegations, through to visiting Ministerial and Service Chiefs inward visits with Guards of Honour and Ceremonial Guards, and more.

6. Defence also engages on a regular basis with over 200 members of the London Defence Attaché community through a packed programme of site visits to cultural and industrial institutions, talks with thinktanks and key defence stakeholders, and social occasions. Conversely, our own Defence Attaché network overseas regularly interact, build relationships with, and work alongside their host nation counterparts as part of their daily responsibilities, once again driving forward the values, and promoting the contributions to the rules-based order of, the UK as they do so.

7. The provision of Professional Military Education (PME) to international partners is a further key element of defence diplomacy. Places on UK PME courses are highly prized and are in great demand from a wide range of countries. Provision of PME helps to generate good-will, access and influence, with demonstrably positive government-to-government relations in the long-term. Our most prestigious courses include Initial Officer Training courses at Dartmouth, Sandhurst and Cranwell, the Royal College of Defence Studies, and the Advanced Command and Staff Course at the Defence Academy. We also maintain a number of dedicated teams who are able to deliver courses overseas, thus increasing the audience we are able to reach. In FY21/22, there were more than 2,000 international participants on UK military courses.

Question 2. What is the best and most effective way to utilise the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo (REMT)? What changes would need to be made to facilitate the better use of the REMT?

8. The REMT is tri-service high-profile strategic engagement activity, utilising five nights of high-level hosting (fifteen opportunities in total). This activity provides two main opportunities to Defence and HMG.

9. Firstly, soft power and international exposure by affording access to the carefully selected groups of VIPs, dignitaries and leaders. This is managed each year by a Lead Service running a master guest list to enable coherence of messaging and invitees across the MOD and HMG.

10.             Secondly, is the cultural outreach. The REMT also draws in significant physical attendance, with millions of viewers on UK TV and abroad, or through social media in the aftermath.

11.             By its nature, REMT is focused on showcasing defence culture. While the Army in Scotland carries a large part of the annual support, each year is given over to a lead Armed Service to showcase its cultural tradition woven into a theme, allowing the REMT to market their product internationally. With music being the dominant aspect of the REMT, supporting international military acts tend to be engaged for various serials in the programme, such as a precision drill. Going one step further in October 2019, the Tattoo also took the show overseas to Sydney, Australia, under the banner of ‘At All Points of the Compass’, demonstrating further potential for the Tattoo’s cultural reach in the future.

12.             The Army also plays a major advisory and supporting role with personnel and infrastructure such as accommodation and transit, thereby underpinning relationships with Defence and civilian cultural organisations internationally.

13.             At the same time as the REMT, the Army engages with ‘Army At The Fringe’ given both REMT and the acclaimed Edinburgh Festival take place over the month of August. The Edinburgh Festival is one of the top tourist draws in Scotland from which the REMT benefits. The Edinburgh Reserves Centre hosts a series of military-linked theatrical performances, again allowing engagement with a wider audience and demonstrating further potential for growth in the arts for the Armed Forces and REMT.

Question 3. How should naval assets be used for furthering defence diplomacy e.g. their use for receptions and trade missions?

14.             In the UK, Royal Navy (RN) vessels are used to further engagement and Defence priorities as the operational and training schedule allows. This ranges from ships alongside in support of national moments, such as the Platinum Jubilee (including ships alongside in Commonwealth countries) and Armed Forces Day, to more local activity e.g. Cowes Week. Where possible, the Navy looks to open the doors to visitors, whether general public or more targeted groups. In addition, the Navy runs an affiliations programme linking RN ships with civic authorities right across the UK. Each ship holds at least two affiliations with a city, town or borough, but wider links are made with other groups e.g. Livery Companies. This activity is currently being evaluated and remapped as more patrol vessels and ships come online.

15.             Overseas, RN vessels offer a persistent presence around the globe, from forward-deployed Offshore Patrol Vessels which service routine Defence outputs, to the deployment of Carrier and Littoral Strike Groups that can enhance bilateral partnerships and provide a visible deterrent to competitors. Alongside operations, Naval platforms provide the ability to conduct routine defence engagements, offering support and an important platform, popular with partners abroad, to reinforce HMG messaging and in-country outputs across defence and security, trade and diplomacy. 

16.             This can be small-scale, such as port visits and joint exercises, or support to large-scale events such as the Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carrier.

17.             In September 2022, HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH (QEC), provided the platform in New York harbour to host the Atlantic Future Forum (AFF). The AFF, a Department for International Trade (DIT) lead, brought together industry and defence partners from the US and Europe to discuss current security challenges and how they may be overcome. Use of the QEC provided a visible demonstration of UK carrier potency and capability as well as providing a unique and impressive conference space that magnified the effect of the Forum.

18. The deployment of the Carrier Strike Group in 2021 (‘CSG21’ or Operation FORTIS) was heavily based around Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships and a squadron of F-35 jets but also brought together all three services, as well as other government departments (especially Trade and the Foreign Office) alongside international partners to provide a demonstration of how defence engagement and defence diplomacy can achieve national objectives.

19. Although the deployment was constrained by the impact of Covid it was still able to: operate and demonstrate UK military capabilities; exercise and operate with international military partners; champion UK prosperity and the ‘Global Britain’ campaign across several of the largest and most significant international markets; act as a platform for international diplomacy; and present a physical UK commitment in support of the international order, to meet the goals of the deployment. Defence set a series of policy goals for the deployment, and monitored progress against those goals through a combination of feedback from partners and allies, reporting from our defence and diplomatic networks, and analysis of media and public reporting, amongst other sources.

20. Port visits or where we could achieve heavy coverage of exercising and operating at sea understandably proved the most successful. Longer-term and more enduring impacts will be measured through successes in developing relationships, and progress with trade and industry partnerships.

21.             The RN supports ceremonial duties, most recently at the funeral of the late Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. This also includes Remembrance and Commemorative events – 2022 saw the fortieth anniversary of the Falklands Conflict - and may be in the form of street liners, step liners, marching contingents and gun salutes. Those involved can be drawn from the wider RN family – RN, Royal Marines including Reservists, Royal Fleet Auxiliary, Merchant Navy and Cadets.

Question 4. Has the Government adequately supported and facilitated the pursuit of defence diplomacy through cultural events and institutions?

22.             The Defence Diplomatic Network draws its objectives from, and is therefore directly supported by, national strategic direction and strategy; specifically the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy (Jan 2021), its recent Refresh, and the Defence Command Paper (Mar 2021).

23.             The coordination and delivery of defence diplomacy is directed by the MOD but managed across the ‘One HMG’ Overseas Platform. Further direction is given by the Cabinet Office-run National Security Council and in partnership with other Government Departments including but not limited to the FCDO, DCMS, and DIT.

Question 5. What role should the Government have in supporting and coordinating cultural defence diplomacy?

24.             There is significant crossover of departmental interest in the Defence overseas network, in particular with the FCDO, and DIT; activity is therefore coordinated wherever possible. The MOD has recently instigated a long-term project to re-frame the aims and objectives of its overseas diplomatic network and to further professionalise the cadre of selected specialists who deliver its programmes. This project draws on support from key stakeholders across Government.

Question 6. Which organisations or sectors should be responsible for supporting the UK’s defence diplomacy efforts?

25.             Defence is ultimately responsible for its diplomatic efforts; nonetheless, it is delivered in line with the principles of the Prime Minister’s ‘One HMG’ Overseas vision to maximise HMG benefit, as outlined in the Memorandum of Understanding on the use of the ‘One HMG’ Overseas Platform, which sets out the arrangements for the use of the FCDO overseas estate and governed by the requirements of the Foreign Secretary, who is responsible for the UK’s diplomatic and development relations.

26.             Further support to the aims and objectives of UK Defence Diplomacy is also found through our long-term presence in multi-national organisations. Our influence and shared strategic objectives in NATO, for example, allow for an amplification of UK strategic messaging through the channels of 29 other like-minded countries. This model is replicated to a lesser extent in similar sectors such as the UN and further regional multi-lateral bodies.

Question 7. How should value from cultural defence diplomacy be measured? Is there currently an agreed or effective framework for measuring impact against objectives?

27.             Beyond the tangible media coverage and positive bilateral and multilateral relations produced off the back of music festivals and touring bands, parades and displays, State duties, international conferences, and Professional Military Education, The Defence overseas network is perhaps the most enduring strategic lever available to defence in terms of cultural diplomacy. The network encompasses over 96 Defence Attachés, integrated with ‘One HMG’ platforms globally, and commanded by a dedicated 2* Military Officer in the MOD. This significant international profile is managed by networked staff in Whitehall who represent the MOD on joint governance boards, including the FDCO Global Network Board, and routinely engages across HMG to ensure a unified approach to delivering Defence objectives.

28.             This cadre of Defence Attachés is selected from across Defence based on suitable qualifications and experience and they receive bespoke culture and language training prior to employment on the ‘One HMG’ platform. Delivery against objectives by this cohort can, at times, be hard to quantify when the intended aim is to build, bolster, or maintain bilateral relationships or to share culture; however, delivery of trade deals, industrial partnerships, participation on military courses, Ministerial and State visits, memorandums of understanding, and support for shared principles, are undoubtedly proof of the value of the UK’s cultural defence diplomacy efforts. Without that vital in-country presence and expertise, defence ministers would be severely impeded in building and sustaining strong relationships across the globe.

Summary

29.      In conclusion, Defence can always achieve more through its cultural diplomacy in coordination with HMG colleagues. Defence is, however, proud of its record to date and, as a department, has benefitted greatly from our Defence Attaché network in particular.

28 April 2023

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