The 5% War

The only way for China and Russia – not to mention many others – to gain Europe’s respect from a military point of view is to invest 5% in Defence, in equipment and human resources, to dissuade any expansionist temptation. It is true that China and Russia spend much more than that, but we are talking about an alliance of 32 countries against one or two. Or several at the same time.

The fact that this is a demand from Trump – who does everything he can to assert himself as the greatest, and often succeeds – does not diminish the conviction of Europe, which, with a war on its doorstep, has already realized that the American umbrella is no longer enough. A few more years and the European NATO countries would be completely vulnerable if they did not spend many millions to upgrade their capabilities in equipment that, just three years ago, no one imagined would be the weapons of the future.

The war in Ukraine is changing the entire tactics and strategy of military commands, starting with the NATO command, which already recognizes the value of exchanging tanks for land, sea and air drones. There is a whole new concept of military technology that must be quickly adopted by NATO and by each of its members – including Portugal, a founding member. The 5% is the minimum basis for Europe, regardless of who is the American president, to be able to have unbeatable defense capabilities.

The texts in this section reflect the personal opinions of the authors. They do not represent VISÃO nor do they reflect its editorial position.