Germany's defense policy changes spark controversy

Source
China Military Online
Editor
Wang Xinjuan
Time
2022-04-26 16:48:44

By Hai Ning

A series of dramatic changes in Germany's defense policy has been made amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Germany has significantly ramped up defense spending at first, committing a special fund of 100 billion euros for armament projects, and announcing to up its defense budget to over 2% of the GDP every year in the future as required by the NATO. Then it blatantly supplied lethal weapons such as air defense and anti-tank systems to the "war-torn country" for the first time. Next, it has planned to send 13,700 officers and soldiers to join the NATO Response Force (NRF). As many commentators have exclaimed, Germany intends to bid farewell to its decades-long culture of military restraint spiced with a good deal of pacifism that Germany has pursued since the end of WWII, a move to reshape Europe's military and political landscape.

Indeed, it is no accident to the shift in Germany's defense policy. In addition to coping with the security pressure brought about by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Germany also considered enhancing the "strategic autonomy" of Germany and the EU and maintaining the Germany-US strategic partnership. However, observation of multiple aspects is yet to be made in regard to judge whether Germany's defense policy has completely "changed its course" or even "gone out of control".

Germany's own defense capability has to be taken into account. The accelerated investment in German defense at present is largely a compensation for the previous "arrear". Due to the long-term low proportion of military expenditure to its GDP, the problem of outdated equipment in Germany’s military has been highly prominent. The "urgent need" that Germany has intended to solve in increasing its defense spending is actually to purchase the most basic individual equipment including bulletproof vests, helmets, thermal clothing and night vision goggles. According to German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht, Germany is addressing its most basic defense needs, instead of building up arms.

The tolerance of Germany's Western allies has to be considered. One of NATO's main functions lies in "holding down the Germans". In other words, to ensure a "Germany in Europe" rather than a "German Europe" is one of the important functions of the EU. After WWII, Germany's General Staff Headquarters was disbanded, and Germany's overseas military operations have often been carried out under the framework of the NATO and EU.

In fact, the defense industry and command institutions on which Germany used to depend to launch wars of aggression have long been deeply integrated into the Western, especially European, defense system, trapped by the "bridle" of "integration". In order to dispel the doubts of its allies, most of Germany's major equipment R&D development projects have been in multinational cooperation, and major military purchase projects such as fighter jets have also given priority to US-made equipment or those jointly developed by European countries. For the foreseeable future, Germany will not develop conventional long-range strike weapons, let alone "nuclear weapons". So it will be difficult for Germany to get rid of the fundamental background of Homeland Defens e.

The direction of Germany's national strategy to take has to be analyzed. Germany has successfully won the understanding of its neighboring countries on historical issues and meanwhile gained universal recognition for its economic prosperity and political rise through in-depth integration into the process of European integration. Based on the above-mentioned experience, German political circles have always advocated the settlement of international disputes through multilateral consultation and considered it inappropriate to resort to force at will, as shown by its opposition to the Iraq War, distancing itself from the US in the Libyan War and the Ukraine crisis.

In regard to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, although Germany has been forced to impose sanctions against Russia under pressure from the US, the German politicians and the public have been still discussing and reflecting on the problems as follows. Is it necessary and wise to worsen the Germany-Russia relations, resulting in a panic of arms race? What has troubled the security of Germany and even Europe, its weak defense capability or structural problem at a deeper level? The answers to these questions will directly guide the direction of Germany's defense policy adopted in the future.

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