U.S. Secretary of State Rubio wrote tonight (May 15th evening, Beijing Time): "Now is the time. Allies need to contribute more to make NATO stronger. During my meeting with NATO Secretary General Rett, we formulated a new guideline for increasing defense spending and production. To better protect our alliance, we must enhance defense production, improve military readiness, and truly achieve burden-sharing. We look forward to determining NATO's path to achieving 5% at the The Hague Summit in June."
[Wit] Comment: Trump's attitude is very tough, demanding that NATO member states raise their defense spending to 5% of GDP. Will these NATO members comply? If it really reaches 5%, these European NATO members will inevitably have to cut spending in other areas. Europe has long been heavily reliant on the United States in the security sector, and this "free ride" model has long been deeply entrenched. Moreover, Europe's self-perception is indeed very fragmented: on one hand, they believe themselves to be stronger than Russia, but on the other hand, they cannot produce more ammunition than Russia; on one hand, they think they have enough money to support Middle Eastern and North African immigrants, but on the other hand, they believe that increasing military spending will cause the entire economy to collapse.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1832189828158740/
Disclaimer: This article only represents the author's personal views.