Bauer notes that military deployments in recent decades have been mostly in remote areas. “For a long time, we’ve looked at crisis operations away from home, like in Afghanistan and Iraq.”
According to the admiral, it is therefore now necessary to examine how the defense of one’s own country can be adjusted. ‘We’ve actually only focused on efficiency and not enough on effectiveness. We have also seen this in the pandemic with medical supplies. Now we see him at war with military equipment, including ammunition.’
Bauer’s concerns are due to the amount of equipment now being sent to Ukraine for the war against Russia. However, he is not directly concerned about a Russian attack on the Netherlands. ‘You shouldn’t just look at yourself, but at the opponent as well. Does he have enough to attack us?’ Bauer refers to Russia. “Since the Russians deploy more than 85 percent of their military in Ukraine and launch missiles there, it’s certainly justified to take risks there.”
‘Over the last 30 years we have paid too little attention to our defense’
Bauer thus sees a solution to increase the effectiveness of the Dutch defense on the side of industry. “Now we are looking at the production capacity of the defense industry, we are upgrading it.” However, Bauer does not mean that Dutch defense currently does not meet the NATO conditions of sufficient armament for homeland defence. That’s too big a claim. I think together we have paid too little attention to our defense over the past thirty years.’
Raise the NATO standard
Within NATO, the guideline of 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) that must be spent on defense applies, but it could be higher, Bauer expects. ‘The sum of things like tanks, planes, submarines and everything you need to defend yourself, obviously costs a certain amount. If you compare that to total GDP, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was over 2%.
Performing military service
The NATO president also stresses that one should not only consider material when it comes to defense in the Netherlands. Bauer doesn’t shy away from the thought of conscription either. ‘Many people laugh at you for that in the Netherlands. But you see that in Ukraine after a while you also have to look for new soldiers, because there are many dead and wounded».