Russian ground forces are now larger than when they invaded Ukraine in February 2022, said Rob Bauer, chairman of the NATO Military Committee in Brussels. “But – as a military official quoted by Reuters said – their quality has decreased since then.” He also turned his attention to China.
– Right now, the Russians do not pose the same threat as they did in February 2022, so we have some time to prepare, said the chairman of the Military Committee in Brussels. NATO Rob Bauer and drew attention to the state of equipment of the forces and the level of training of soldiers. He added that for the West this means the need to increase investment in the arms industry.
He also called on companies to prepare for a war scenario and adapt their production and distribution lines to make them less susceptible to blackmail from countries such as Russia Whether China.
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“If we can ensure that all key services and goods will be delivered no matter what, that is a key part of our deterrence,” Rob Bauer emphasized in a speech at the European Policy Center think tank.
Russian soldiers during trainingArkady Budnitsky/EPA/PAP
Bauer: The West depends on supplies from China
– We thought we had an agreement with Gazprom, but actually we had an agreement with Mr. Putin. And the same applies to infrastructure and goods belonging to China. In fact, we have an agreement with Xi Jinping, said the chairman of the NATO Military Committee.
Bauer noted the West's dependence on supplies from China, where 60 percent of all rare earth materials are produced and nearly 90 percent processed. He said the chemical ingredients for sedatives, antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs and low blood pressure medications also come from China.
We are naive if we think that the Chinese Communist Party will never use this power. Business leaders in Europe and America must realize that the trade decisions they make have strategic consequences for the security of their countries. Although the military may win battles, it is economies that win wars, stressed the NATO military officer quoted by Reuters.
Admiral Rob Bauer (Royal Navy Netherlands) is the 33rd chairman of the NATO Military Committee. As a military advisor to the Secretary General and the North Atlantic Council, he is NATO's highest-ranking military officer. From 2017 to 2021, Bauer led the Dutch armed forces through the first four years of heavy investment after a decades-long period of spending cuts.
Main photo source: Arkady Budnitsky/EPA/PAP