Germany’s top military officer said the country would continue to play a role in Asia-Pacific security, even as the US urges European nations to focus more on the threat from Russia.
“We have to do both,” Chief of Defence Carsten Breuer said in an interview with Bloomberg TV on the sidelines of the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue conference in Singapore. It’s in Germany’s interest to support the rules-based international order and protect freedom of navigation in the Asia-Pacific region, he said.
Germany, along with other European countries, has been building stronger defense relationships in Asia and has sent warships through the region, such as the German frigate Bayern, which visited Japan and other locations in 2021.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Saturday that Europe’s top priority should remain its own region, especially with the ongoing war in Ukraine. He said the US would focus on addressing the threat from China.
Hegseth also urged Asian nations to follow the lead of Europe in increasing defense spending. He pointed out that members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, including Germany, are committing to spending 5% of their gross domestic product on defense.
Breuer said it’s actually the threat from Russia that’s driving Germany and others to boost their military budgets. For him, the focus isn’t just on hitting spending targets but about building the right capabilities.
“It’s of course air defense where we have to speed up, it’s main battle tanks, it’s infantry fighting vehicles, it’s the delivery of ammunition,” he said.
He said China’s global role, including its ties with Russia, make it harder to treat global threats as separate. “You have to see the spillover effect from Europe toward Asia, and vice versa,” he said.
As for Ukraine, Breuer said Germany recently brought in a €4 billion support package to help Ukraine better defend itself. “This is mainly to strengthen the Ukraine defense industry so that it’s self-sustaining for the future,” he said.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.