The United Kingdom (UK) and the Kingdom of the Netherlands reaffirm the enduring strength of their defence partnership and their shared commitment to the security of the Euro-Atlantic area. The relationship is built on the foundations of Europe’s oldest integrated force, the 53-year-old UK-Netherlands Joint Amphibious Force. Grounded in a common commitment to NATO, International Law and European security, this partnership is a central pillar of both nations’ approach to deterrence, defence and crisis response.

In an increasingly contested strategic environment, the UK and the Netherlands are committed to deepening defence cooperation in ways that strengthen Europe’s contribution to collective security, bolster the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), and reinforce NATO’s readiness and cohesion, in support of a stronger Europe in a stronger NATO. The 2025 UK/EU Security and Defence Partnership is also key in delivering this ambition. Our enhanced maritime partnership supports a more integrated and modern amphibious force, that strengthens the JEF and NATO’s ability to respond to evolving conventional, hybrid and maritime threats, enhancing our deterrence and defence posture. Both nations recognise that there is now a unique opportunity to enhance our defence partnership around four fundamental pillars.

These pillars will enable both nations to co-develop cutting-edge UK and Dutch defence technology, utilising innovation to face emerging global threats reflecting our common priorities as JEF nations and shared contribution to NATO Regional Plan North West, including for amphibious reinforcement.

This enhanced bilateral agenda sits within a wider shared strategic commitment. The UK and the Netherlands remain closely aligned in their support for Ukraine, including through military assistance, training initiatives and multinational cooperation. We will continue working together to sustain support to Ukraine and reinforce Europe’s long-term commitment to its sovereignty and security.

Closer alignment between the UK and the Netherlands lends further credibility to the JEF, reinforcing our shared interests, threat perceptions, and commitment to the principles of mutual aid underpinning Article 3 of the North Atlantic Treaty. Through the JEF, shared capabilities are made available to a coalition of like-minded Northern European nations and reinforce NATO’s regional deterrence, supporting a stronger Europe in a stronger NATO.

Both nations also reaffirm the importance of continued coordination on maritime security in order to uphold freedom of navigation, contribute to regional stability, and demonstrate Alliance resolve in the face of evolving threats. Through NATO and the JEF, the UK and the Netherlands will continue to work together to strengthen deterrence, accelerate adaptation, and ensure that the Alliance remains united, capable and ready.

The UK and the Netherlands agree that cooperation on the Amphibious Transport Ship (ATS) programme is the flagship bilateral project serving as a foundation for wider and deeper defence industrial collaboration, including on future maritime capabilities.

ATS represents an ambitious and practical means of strengthening an already deep maritime partnership and signalling a step change in bilateral defence integration. Both nations recognise that ATS offers a credible response to a shared amphibious challenge, and capability requirements are already aligned. A common platform will preserve and modernise amphibious and littoral lift capability, while enhancing interchangeability, readiness and the joint UK-Netherlands Specialised Advance Amphibious Force contribution to NATO.

Both nations also underline the wider strategic and industrial significance of this enhanced maritime agenda. A joint amphibious platform would not only strengthen military capability and interoperability, but also support respective defence industries, thereby reinforcing economic growth, sustaining sovereign and allied shipbuilding capability, and building long-term industrial resilience supporting highly skilled jobs and workforce in both nations.

The UK-Netherlands Amphibious Task Force represents NATO’s high-readiness Advance Force, tasked to shape the littoral operating environment ahead of the arrival of larger NATO follow-on forces.

As we further develop a joint Amphibious capability, the UK and the Netherlands commit to enhancing the longstanding relationship and will continue to assess how this unique and historic partnership can be deepened to meet operational demands. Already collaborating in tightly linked force design programmes, we will strengthen force integration, readiness and ongoing capability development to ensure the UK and the Netherlands can operate seamlessly together across the spectrum of operations, including in support of NATO regional planning and the evolving maritime ambition of the JEF.

We will build on our strong cooperation in JEF Navies and seek to explore an enhanced bilateral operational relationship including deeper work across defence lines of development on a more integrated and interchangeable hybrid navy approach, with a mixture of crewed, uncrewed and autonomous systems, enhanced command-and-control arrangements, and future maritime air defence cooperation, strengthening collective capability and commercial value.

Northern Europe, the Arctic and the High North have become the front line of strategic competition. A more integrated UK–Netherlands maritime force is essential to delivering credible regional security across the JEF area of operations, NATO’s Regional Plan North West, within the Amphibious Task Force and the Operational Reserve, deterring conventional and hybrid malign activity.

Through the JEF, the UK and the Netherlands continue to assure the regional defence plans for the Baltic, High North and Arctic; a closer maritime relationship will offer scalable deterrence and persistent presence in key maritime and littoral areas. This integration is particularly vital in safeguarding critical undersea infrastructure, and seabed systems, which underpin both economic security and military effectiveness and boost collective European security, while supporting and complementing NATO’s own operations. Strengthened cooperation through shared platforms and aligned capability development ensures that our forces are better able to anticipate, deter and respond to threats and therefore enhances our collective resilience.  Through the UK/EU Security and Defence Partnership we continue to increase European coordination to counter shadow fleet vessels.

For the Kingdom of The Netherlands:                          For the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland:ROB JETTEN                                                                                              KEIR STARMER

Prime Minister                                                                                       Prime Minister