NATO postpones plans to increase defense spending?

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) aims for member countries to spend at least 2% of their gross domestic product (GDP) on defense each year and plans to raise this to 2.5%.

However, Ms. Tuuli Duneton - Deputy Minister in charge of defense policy at the Estonian Ministry of Defense - said that discussion on increasing the minimum spending level will be postponed until the 2025 summit, according to Breaking Defense on July 2.

“Since last year’s summit, the general perception is that countries are not ready to commit to the 2.5% target at this year’s meeting,” she said. The 2024 NATO summit will take place on July 9-11 in the United States.

US F-35 fighter jets parked at a base in Estonia

Ms Duneton said the bloc was keen to maintain unity at the Washington DC meeting and would therefore avoid raising issues that could cause division. However, Estonia’s deputy defence minister stressed that the 2.5% target was necessary and would be easier to discuss at next year’s summit in the Netherlands. Estonia is expected to spend 3.43% of its GDP on defence this year, second only to Poland in NATO.

In June, NATO statistics showed that 23 member countries will reach 2% of GDP in defense spending this year, with Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Turkey reaching that milestone for the first time, according to Politico . NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that this year, the total spending of member countries will increase by 18%, the highest in decades.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte appointed NATO Secretary General

Last year, NATO also approved a regional defense plan, spanning the North Atlantic, Arctic, Baltic, Eastern Europe, Mediterranean and Black Seas, with plans to deploy 300,000 troops in a state of high readiness.

Stars and Stripes on July 2 quoted NATO military officials as saying that the alliance this week established a rapid reaction force as part of a plan to upgrade NATO defenses, called the Allied Response Force (ARF).

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nato-hoan-ke-hoach-tang-chi-tieu-quoc-phong-185240703105746493.htm