“Preventing a conflict by being strong comes back much cheaper than making war on the other hand,” said Belgian defense chief Frederik Vansina on Thursday on the eve of a federal government meeting during which the strategic defense vision for the period 2026-34 should be approved.
At the end of June, during the NATO summit in The Hague, the 32 member states of the Alliance undertook to devote 3.5 % of their GDP in pure defense expenses and 1.5 % for their critical infrastructure, in particular, by 2035.
On the sidelines of the summit, Belgium had presented its strategic vision, resting for the moment on 2 % of GDP dedicated to pure defense until 2033 and 2.5 % in 2034. An intermediate assessment will be carried out in 2029, in order to determine how to move forward towards the NATO objective of 3.5 %.
The defense boss, who was speaking during the results of his first year of mandate, was satisfied with the plan presented by the government coalition. “We come back from 35 years of disinvestment in defense, so there is a lot to do. This is a good program, ”said General Aviator. “This 3.5 % NATO standard does not fall from the sky, it is more or less what European countries spent on their defense before the fall of the Berlin Wall. Even in Belgium, we were more than 3 % of the GDP for defense, “he added, justifying the amount of 34.2 billion euros which should in principle be invested in defense until 2034.
This strategic vision includes the purchase of new F-35 combat aircraft, essential to establish the air superiority necessary for the victory of a war, according to General Vansina. “This is a lesson that can be drawn from the conflict in Ukraine. We see that neither the Ukrainians nor the Russians are masters of heaven. And what is happening in this case is that we find ourselves in the trenches. »»
However, the acquisition of these stealthy design aircraft has been controversial in recent months due to the instability of Washington’s positioning. For the defense chief, these criticisms are however unfounded “the F-35 is the best fighting plane in the world. There are no black buttons that allow Americans to deactivate it, it’s really a myth, “he said. “Thirteen European countries bought F-35, and I don’t think they all got the wrong. If we have all selected this device, it is that there was no European model with the same capacities, the same interoperability and at the same price. »»
Investments all the more important as the instability surrounding Europe has only increased in recent months. “The world order based on the rules is growing more and more and heads for a situation in which it is the law of the strongest that it wins. Is it something that worries us, because he will stop? Asked the Aviator General, in reference to the situation on the Ukrainian front, but also the recent attacks in Iran, the tensions between India and Pakistan, or the rise of China. “We must realize that if Russia attacked, for example, a Baltic State, Belgium would enter war, under article 5 of the Atlantic Alliance [qui stipule qu’une attaque contre un pays membre de l’Otan est une attaque contre tous, NDLR] ».
The American position displayed in The Hague that Washington undertakes to respect this clause thus represents another victory of the NATO summit, according to the boss of the army. “This is very bad news for Moscow, which tries by all means to crack this transatlantic link. They know that Europe is not able to defend itself without itself without the United States. Like it or not, it is reality. A 35 -year -old divestment in Europe in the defense area resulted in completely gnawed armies that must now be rebuilt. »»
The defense chief, however, pointed out a light of optimism as to the prospects for European defense. “I believe that there is this conscience with the population, not only in Belgium, but throughout Europe, as well as at political level, that Europe must take its fate in its own hands. We still have 500 million inhabitants, a beautiful industry, means, brains […]. In 10 years, I think we will be autonomous as a European. »»
