NATO chief calls for urgent defense spending amid rising threats

During a conference organized by the think tank Carnegie Europe, Rutte emphasized that the threat from Russia is long-term, pointing to its preparations for confrontation both with Ukraine and NATO. He also drew attention to growing Russian military expenditures, which are expected to reach 7-8% of GDP by 2025, the highest level since the Cold War.

In addition to the threat from Russia, the NATO Secretary General also spoke about China's ambitions, stating that they are "building up its forces, including its nuclear weapons." He believes that Beijing plans to increase the number of its nuclear warheads from 200 in 2020 to over 1,000 by 2030. Rutte also expressed concern over China's actions towards Taiwan and attempts to access key infrastructure in NATO countries, which "could cripple our societies."

He stressed that Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran "are hard at work to try to weaken North America and Europe" and "reshape the global order." He stated that these countries "are testing us, and the rest of the world is watching."

Although the NATO Secretary General assured there is no direct military threat to the 32 members of the Alliance, he nonetheless expressed concern about the future.

We are not ready for what is coming our way in four to five years, he said.

In this context, he highlighted the need to increase arms production to meet growing threats. He stated that "our defence industry, here in Europe, has been hollowed out by decades of underinvestment and narrow national industrial interests." He noted that Russian arms factories are producing war equipment around the clock, and Russia is rebuilding its forces "much quicker than we had anticipated."

Rutte added that China is also developing its military-industrial base, acquiring advanced weapons systems "five to six times faster than the US."

In this context, he called on NATO member governments to place large orders and sign long-term contracts with the defence industry to enable it to quickly produce more and better quality equipment. He encouraged investment in innovations and "taking risks," as well as changing outdated public procurement regulations.

The NATO Secretary General also addressed the citizens of Alliance member countries, urging them to exert pressure on banks and pension funds to invest in the defence industry. He stated that "investing in defence is an investment in our security."

Regarding defence spending, Rutte noted that "it is true that we spend more on defence now than we did a decade ago. But we are still spending far less than during the Cold War."

If we don’t spend more together now to prevent war, we will pay a much, much, much higher price later to fight it, Rutte said.

He concluded his speech with a call to citizens to "tell them [the politicians] you accept to make sacrifices today so that we can stay safe tomorrow."