Paper Tigers
Paper Tigers
U.S., Japan's record defense budgets intensifying geopolitical rivalry, Germany mulls reintroduction of compulsory military service
UPDATE:
Japan and the U.S. have adopted record-breaking defense budgets for 2024, with Japan accepting a 16-percent rise in military spending, and the U.S. authorizing $886 billion in annual military expenditure, which totals $28 billion higher than it did for the $858 billion it budgeted for 2023.
At the end of October, the Bundeswehr said it counted 181,383 soldiers in its ranks — that's still some distance from the target of 203,000 that the German military hopes to reach by 2025. This has given rise to concern in times of Russia-Ukraine conflict, which has once again reminded Germans how quickly conflicts can erupt in Europe.
U.S., Japan's record defense budgets intensifying geopolitical rivalry
By CGTN
Japan and the U.S. have adopted record-breaking defense budgets for 2024, with Japan accepting a 16-percent rise in military spending, and the U.S. authorizing $886 billion in annual military expenditure, which totals $28 billion higher than it did for the $858 billion it budgeted for 2023.
How will the military budgets of the United States and Japan be allocated? Destabilizing regional and global peace is a simple solution. The U.S. has plainly stated that competition with China drove the fiscal year 2024 budget request. The military-industrial complex of the U.S. is highlighted by the fact that its defense expenditure, which ranks first in the world, is larger than the sum of the defense budgets of the next 10 nations, which reveals the U.S. is a war-mongering country.
Thus, the budget was accurately assessed by the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, which said that "sticking to the current defense spending strategy is not only economically wasteful but will also make America and the world less safe." Over the next decade, a prudent strategy might save at least $1.3 trillion, money that could be used to finance other areas of critical national needs. Senator Bernie Sanders opposed the $886 billion defense authorization bill, citing the country's pressing issues such as climate change, healthcare, education, and housing, arguing it is unnecessary, overspending, and promoting waste and fraud in the Pentagon.
Because of the possibility of an arms race and intensifying geopolitical rivalry, the U.S.'s military expenditure is becoming a greater danger to international peace and stability because it might be used to maintain U.S. military hegemony and contain China, spending public dollars on pointless military endeavors. On December 24, the front page headline of the Taipei Times read, "Biden signs Taipei-friendly defense bill." How can Washington's defense budget be a Taipei-friendly defense bill? This implies that the U.S. will violate China's sovereignty and heighten tensions across the Taiwan Straits by using taxpayers' money to destabilize the area.
As seen by the current Palestine-Israel dispute and the Russia-Ukraine crisis, the U.S. often takes sides that serve its interests. U.S. leaders emphasize the harsh reality of their interests above addressing the misery of the people, preferring to maintain tensions, geopolitics, geostrategic interests, and a Cold War mindset. These U.S. actions cannot ensure world peace.
Japan's cabinet approved a 16 percent increase in military spending for 2024 and eased its postwar ban on lethal weapons exports, underscoring a shift away from its self-defense principle. Japan's government has revised its arms export ban, allowing the export of weapons and components made in Japan under foreign licenses to licensing nations, marking a controversial change in security strategy. Japan's government approved the first export shipment of Patriot-guided missiles to the U.S., paving the way for future exports of lethal weapons and components.
However, some Japanese officials such as Takakage Fujita, chairman of Japan's Inheritance and Development Murayama Talk argue that Japan's expansion of defense expenditure and loosening of arms exports are contrary to its pacifist constitution and should be rejected. This action is seen to be against Article 9 of Japan's pacifist Constitution and might exacerbate tensions in East Asia.
Concern from China and other surrounding nations is growing as a result of U.S. pressure on Japan to increase military expenditure and engagement. U.S. officials praised Japan for raising defense expenditures to counter growing Chinese threats. What an ironic position! Japan started an aggressive attack against China and other Asia-Pacific nations during World War II, which resulted in severe casualties for all parties involved, including the U.S. Did the U.S. forget this?
However, the U.S. views China as a threat, even though China has been a global peacebuilder which contributes to world growth and supports the international order. Faced with the record-breaking military budgets of the U.S. and Japan, China may take countermeasures to ensure that it does not fall behind.
For other Pacific Rim countries such as ASEAN, they should support peace over rearmament in light of Japan's history of atrocities carried out by its imperialists. For example, the Camp David U.S.-Japan-Korea Trilateral Summit in August proved to be a purposefully provocative expansion of the containment of China by the U.S. and Japan. In February, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos stressed the need for a trilateral military alliance between the U.S, Japan, and the Philippines to counter China. I would want to ask both Marcos and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol: Did they overlook Japan's savagery and carelessness during World War II?
Japan's hostile stance prevents it from showing sincerity in the face of its neighbors' strong demand for an apology for the war crimes committed there. Japan began discharging its radioactively tainted water into the Pacific Ocean in defiance of international objections. The world saw Japan's recklessness and haughtiness.
As a traditionally aggressive country and colonial power, Japan's growing aggression and irresponsibility in the area threaten the peace and stability of the region. The security and peace of the countries in East and Southeast Asia will be negatively impacted by Japan's increased defense spending, which stems from the country's belligerent pre-World War II stance that has endangered the region.
Read more here.
Germany mulls reintroduction of compulsory military service
By DW (amended)
At the end of October, the Bundeswehr said it counted 181,383 soldiers in its ranks — that's still some distance from the target of 203,000 that the German military hopes to reach by 2025. This has given rise to concern in times of Russia-Ukraine conflict, which has once again reminded Germans how quickly conflicts can erupt in Europe.
Since taking office at the beginning of 2023, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has been thinking about ways to make the Bundeswehr more attractive as a career. He said he has received 65 concrete proposals from his ministry on recruitment and reforming training methods.
Even conscription, something Germany ended in 2011, is also up for debate. "There were reasons at the time to suspend compulsory military service. In retrospect, however, it was a mistake," Pistorius told newspaper Die Welt earlier in December.
He also cited the case of Sweden, where compulsory military service was suspended and then reintroduced. "I'm looking at models, such as the Swedish model, where all young men and women are conscripted and only a select few end up doing their basic military service. Whether something like this would also be conceivable here is part of these considerations," said Pistorius.
In 2011, the Bundeswehr was being reformed and downsized. The conservative-led government under Chancellor Angela Merkel wanted to save money and professionalize the Bundeswehr at the same time. It seemed that keeping a large number of soldiers was no longer necessary — instead, the plan was for a smaller, well-trained army specializing in foreign missions. The assumption was that numbers could be increased again in the event of tension or defense.
A volunteer army, without the volunteers
During the Cold War in the 1970s and 1980s, there were almost half a million soldiers in the West German armed forces, the Bundeswehr. Meanwhile, the National People's Army (NVA) in East Germany still comprised around 168,000 soldiers at the end of 1989.
With the post-World War II rearmament of West Germany's Federal Republic in the mid-1950s, all men from the age of 18 were drafted into military service. The idea was that soldiers should be citizens in uniform, a part of the democratic new society. For five and a half decades, almost all young men did either military service or opted for civilian service in retirement homes or hospitals.
From 1962, the GDR also introduced general compulsory military service for all men between the ages of 18 and 26 for a basic military service of 18 months. The only recognized reason for refusal was religious conviction.
With German reunification, the NVA was disbanded and partially integrated into the Bundeswehr. Some 18,000 soldiers were transferred, including 3,000 officers. Due to international agreements following German reunification in 1990, the German Bundeswehr then had to be reduced to 370,000 soldiers.
Today, the Bundeswehr is a professional army made up of volunteers — but the volunteers are no longer coming. As journalist and defense and security policy expert Thomas Wiegold told DW: "A major frustration in the Bundeswehr is the bureaucracy. Applicants often wait six months for a reply to a letter of application," he said. And the Bundeswehr is not seen as an especially attractive employer in a job market already short of workers.
Pistorius faces criticism over conscription idea
When Pistorius floated his ideas about conscription in December, he faced a barrage of criticism, including from within his own center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD). Party co-chair Saskia Esken said it would be impossible to implement mandatory recruitment on an ad hoc basis "because the training units required for this are no longer available."
Criticism also came from the neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP), the smallest member in the three-way coalition that makes up the federal government. "The reintroduction of compulsory service would be a serious encroachment on the freedom of young people who want to orient themselves professionally," FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr warned in an interview with the Funke Mediengruppe.
Read more.