After talking to NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg on Jan. 22, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s next call was to U.K. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace. “The secretaries discussed views on confronting strategic issues of mutual interest, including the COVID-19 response, concerns from a rising China, threats from Russia, and ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan,” the Pentagon readout reported. “Austin congratulated the U.K. for the recent announcement of its largest increase in defense spending in thirty years, noting the importance of that spending to our shared security and the collective security of the NATO Alliance.” Austin “also noted the significance of the recent Joint Declaration for the Carrier Strike Group 2021 deployment,” which was signed by Chris Miller on Jan. 18. The deployment includes a Marine F-35B squadron that will be operating from the Royal Navy HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier and a U.S. Navy destroyer as part of the task force led by the carrier. “The Secretary expressed his appreciation for the U.K.’s commitment to our defense partnership and emphasized the U.S. commitment to the NATO Alliance,” the readout concluded.