Anti-war campaigners call on the Welsh Government to pull out of arms fair
Abby Neve
Anti-war campaigners have called on the Welsh Government to pull out of a major international arms fair in Japan after it was advertised as an exhibitor at the event.
The website for the DSEI Japan, an international defence event, lists the Welsh Government as one of their exhibiting countries.
Adam Johannes, the Joint Secretary of The Cardiff Stop the War Coalition, said:
“The new Welsh Government has a simple choice: stop turning up at arms fairs. We are calling on it to state plainly that it will never attend another DSEI arms fair, whether in London or Japan, and that it is abandoning the grubby habits of the previous Welsh Labour administration.”
DSEI Japan 2027 is described by the organisers as the “only large-scale, fully integrated defence event in the country, bringing together the global defence industry and Japan’s defence community.” It will take place between 28-30 April 2027 in Chiba, Japan.
The event is part of the controversial biennial trade show (DSEI) in London and is widely regarded as the world’s biggest arms fair.
There are currently more than 30 countries listed as exhibitors as the event, as well as more than 13,000 attendees registered, according to the DSEI website.
The previous Welsh Government also came under fire back in 2021 from Plaid Cymru who criticised the Welsh Labour government for spending public money on “this contemptible event”.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has repeatedly called for the cancellation of this event.
A representative from the Welsh Government responded:
“There will be no direct Welsh Government representation at DSEI Japan 2027. We will continue to engage with the defence, security and national resilience sectors to support the thousands of high-tech, well-paid jobs in Wales, while promoting respect for human rights and international law.”
“An ethical defence framework is being developed, informed by discussions with Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive counterparts, and will guide future engagement with the sector.”
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PC should not be pushing for WG to attend and pull out from this fair. Any company that supplies arms to an evil genocidal zionist government is not one we should be associated with here in lovely Wales.
Nothing wrong with zionism. Israel has a right to exist and to defend itself. But yes we should not sell arms to Russia, North Korea, the world’s many Islamist regimes etc.
When zionism leads to the death of over 60000 semitic Palestinians, 20000 of them bring children and when zionism leads to be throwing semitic Palestinians out of their homes in the west bank, then that is evil.
Bani Israeli has lost its way and its humanity once it chose the path of violence and aggression against sovereign countries and against children.
Most of the 60000 were Hamas fighters, as everyone knows. The civilian casualties are awful but to be expected in war, a war started by Hamas on 7/10. But we should not arm Israel.
Don’t try to hoodwink people with Zionist Propaganda referencing October 7th.
Massacres of Palestinian Communities by Zionist Settler Militias have been happening on a regular basis since the 1948 Nakbah.
What your Zionist loving News Channels haven’t told you is that Ethnic Cleansing of Palestinian Communities were happening in 2023 before the events of October 7th.Btw I thought the Israel Gaza border was the most fortified in the world so where on earth where the IDF on October 7th.
Israel has a right to exist and defend itself, but it does not have a right to commit genocide, or deny the Palestinian people their own statehood. Furthermore Israel has nuclear weapons, I would much rather we supplied weapons and arms to Ukraine who gave up theirs in the 90s.
Can you prove to us that Israel has never killed any Palestinian civilians? I await to be convinced.
Don’t be such a hypocrite the UK has form for selling arms to evil brutal dictatorships the world over.
Besides which why are you singling out North Korea when they have never once threatened the UK.
I more concerned about defense po pacts with the USA than worry about North Korea.
The USA since WWIi has started more wars than the rest of the other countries in the world put together.
Putin says “Hi!”
Trump says “Hi!”
Xi is waiting to say “Hi!
I’m not sure what your point is?
Being anti war is fine, anti defence not, and needing defence means we trade to survive. Unfortunate but that is the world we live in.
Correct. The ‘Stop the War’ coalition are just a bunch of Putin lickspittles who condemned the West for provoking the Russian attack on Ukraine. Just like Reform UK.
How would you guarantee that the products of the so-called ‘defence’ industry are not used to kill people?
40bn sector for the UK or similar. Let’s leave all that investment and skilled jobs for England, Scotland and NI eh Adam?Why don’t we all just say no to business full stop and go back to tilling the earth in big communes? Oh and nice work on getting that other arms fair kicked out of Cardiff to England – their hotels, workers, restaurants etc can all benefit instead. Presume we also stop supporting Ukraine too? If the WG is not at the Japan show in droves to try and attract ANY investment into our backward economy then that is a… Read more »
“Why don’t we all just say no to business full stop and go back to tilling the earth in big communes?”
Because not all businesses are linked to arming multiple mass murdering, war criminal regimes and groups, Hannah.
Ukraine is fighting for its freedom against tyranny.
What with an unelected President and Neo Fascist elements with The Azov Battalion and the hero worship of Stepan Bandera
Right out of Moscow.
Being a governmet is grubby,its inevitable.
Big difference between talking to companies and doing deals with them.
Europe needs to develop its own military industry, independent of the USA. With Trump threatening to annex Greenland they could potentially be as much of an adversary as Russia is now.
Could someone please ensure that Mr Adam Johannes is introduced to some Ukrainian refugees. Arms production and trading is essential to deter attacks. There is an entirely separate ethical question about the adequacy of controls over the destination and purpose of arms sales. That, sadly, is a reserved Westminster matter.