Will Europe and Asia Finally Pay for Their Own Defense?

When President Trump ran on ending foreign military aid to Ukraine, many within Europe and Asia saw red flashing lights. If the United States were to continue to break from giving military assistance to Ukraine, what then would happen on the other side of the world to another similar situation in Taiwan? China could potentially view this as an opportunity to finally seize control of Taiwan if the United States were no longer to fill the role of the world’s liberal hegemon.

The invasion of Ukraine by Russia has forced Europe into learning a hard lesson. They need to change their defensive postures and rearmament programs into one that they themselves can depend on. The regional powers in the Pacific also need to learn from this costly and painful lesson the hard way. The United States needs to end foreign aid to Taiwan, forcing its Asian Pacific allies to step up properly.

A Hard Learned Lesson

Since the end of the Cold War, the United States has been the world’s global peacekeeper. It has gotten involved in conflicts ranging from humanitarian interventions to economic interests to the global wars on terror, fighting terrorist threats. The global war on terror alone, as reported on by Concerned Veterans for America (CVA), cost the U.S. “over 7,000 U.S. troops killed in action, $6 trillion spent, long-term costs estimated at over $2.2 trillion through 2050, and even more unfortunate, over 30,000 veterans lost to suicide.” With the resurgence of a multi-polar world, U.S. allies must reassess their defense burdens and consider what they can do to ensure their safety. Dependency on the United States to cover the lion’s share of defense will no longer suffice.

Laura Pitel reported within Financial Times that, “European rearmament is driving ahead at full speed, as Germany’s Rheinmetall yesterday inaugurated what will be the EU’s largest ammunition factory.” This factory “will initially produce about 25,000 artillery rounds this year, to reach annual production of 350,000 in 2027.” This factory is just one part of the way that Europe can be self-sustaining in its defensive posture. Europe has demonstrated that it is more than capable of providing for its own defense and can rival the United States in terms of defensive spending.

In March, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, unveiled a five-point plan called ReArm Europe Plan that she said “could mobilize close to 800 billion euros of defense expenditures for safe and resilient Europe.” As the United States’ defense budget unfortunately approaches the trillion-dollar mark, Europe must take a more responsible approach to collective security.

Unfortunately, Ukraine had to be the country invaded for Europe to understand that the United States cannot always be the sole provider of equipment and financial backing for European defense, especially when European powers are more than capable of providing their own defense. This hard-learned lesson that Nato powers must increase funding brought European powers to finally “hit a longstanding target of spending 2% of GDP on defence this year…” America should force European leaders to understand the collective costs of security.

Learning from Mistakes

Taiwan faces a similar antagonistic threat from a resurging China. CIA Director William Burns stated that, “Xi has instructed the PLA “to be ready by 2027 to invade Taiwan,” although he has also assessed that Xi and the PLA “have doubts today about whether they could accomplish that invasion.” If this is the case, that China is possibly looking at a unification through forceful means, the same situation would befall the Indo-Pacific.

The Indo-Pacific has numerous power players who could easily help share the burden of deterrence and help maintain the balance of power in the region. Learning from Ukraine and applying those lessons would have prompted regional powers such as South Korea, Japan, and Australia to bolster their defensive armament programs and rebuild their arsenals. In the case of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, America’s Asian partners would need to share that burden. Sheila Smith states in her book, Japan Rearmed: The Politics of Military Power, that “Japanese leaders “understand that it is not in their best interest to limit their military as others invest in their own…”

American allies in the Pacific continue to rely heavily on American forces for defense, rather than working towards self-reliance. AUKUS still has Australia heavily dependent on the United States and the United Kingdom. South Korea and Japan’s continued reliance on American forces stationed domestically reflects the same European-style reluctance to defend themselves properly. Mirroring America’s Taiwan policy with its Ukraine policy will force American allies in the Pacific to boost their military in the same way as those in Europe. Building up their own rearmament programs and military forces would help balance the power in the region, while easing the strains and concerns of the American public.

America is Tired and Done

The United States is tired of shouldering the most significant burden of global peace. As research from Pew Research Center shows, “47% of U.S. adults say it is best for the future of the country to be active in world affairs. 64% think the U.S. should be willing to compromise with other countries on major international issues.” The United States has spent trillions of dollars and thousands of lives to ‘keep the peace’ of the liberal hegemonic moment. Multipolarity has, for better or for worse, returned to the international system and is likely to remain the dominant global power structure for the foreseeable future. Having regional powers and allies, such as the EU, South Korea, Japan, and Australia, step up for their share of the burden will be a necessity for a future they all want. The era of the United States being the world’s police is over, and to prevent a similar fate befalling Taiwan, our Asian allies need to look to their own defenses.

Brandon D. Angel is a U.S. Army veteran and former federal service professional with experience in legislative affairs, foreign policy, and veterans’ advocacy. He has previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives, at a prominent foreign policy think tank, and as a Presidential Management Fellow at the Department of Homeland Security. Brandon is currently a full-time Ph.D. student in Public Policy, specializing in Foreign Policy, at Liberty University.

Republished from Free the People.