Trump’s defence spending demand shocks NATO

Donald Trump created “utter panic’’ among NATO allies after he warned the US could withdraw from the ­organisation.

Donald Trump created “utter panic’’ among NATO allies — who have agreed to pay more, and on a quicker timeline — after he warned the US could withdraw from the ­organisation in January if other wealthy countries did not ­immediately increase their spending on defence to 2 per cent of gross domestic product.

As a result of his demands, Mr Trump last night said countries had acquiesced and “we are doing numbers like they’ve never done before or ever seen before’’ and “everyone agreed to up their commitment’’. He insisted NATO was much stronger than it was two days ago and the US commitment to the alliance remained “very strong”.

“What they are doing is spending at a much faster clip up to the 2 per cent level,’’ Mr Trump said. “Now we are being treated fairly.’’

Mr Trump said he “probably did not need’’ congress approval to withdraw the US from NATO, but the move would not be needed now that allies had committed to increase defence spending. Asked whether he could go it alone, he said: “I probably can but that’s unnecessary, they have stepped up like never before.’’

Donald Trump shakes hands with Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan as France’s Emmanuel Macron looks on at the NATO summit in Brussels. Picture: AP

But French President Emmanuel Macron said no direct threat of a US pullout had been issued. NATO sources said that while Mr Trump warned that the US could “go it alone” if others didn’t step up, it fell short of a ­direct threat.

Late last night, NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said Mr Trump’s message had been heard loud and clear but specifics of the allies’ new commitments were uncertain beyond a “redoubling of efforts to increase spending on defence’’.

Mr Stoltenberg said: “This President is very serious about defence spending and this is having a clear impact. After years of decline, countries are now adding billions, before the trend down, now it is up.’’

The upheaval of the US threat, had inexplicably made NATO stronger, according to Mr Stoltenberg. “NATO is more united now than before the Summit. We have a better common understanding of the challenges, and the allies committed to spending and investing in shared security.’’

Mr Trump said he had won fairness for the US after it had been overburdened with protecting European interests under successive previous administrations and claimed there was now “great collegial spirit in the room that NATO has not had for many years”.

“I am a very stable genius,’’ he said, echoing his January tweet.

Chancellor Angela Merkel was seen emerging from the summit looking concerned and talking on her phone. Germany spends 1.24 per cent of GDP on defence.

Mrs Merkel later said the meeting was “very intense’’ and agreed Germany had to do more, particularly increase its spending on military equipment.

Donald Trump stands tall in a group line-up. Picture: AFP

Mr Trump — who had ­attacked Germany for its reliance on Russian gas and agreeing to a $15 billion new gas pipeline with Russia — said he would meet Mrs Merkel to discuss trade on July 25. “If (that’s) not negotiated with good faith, I will do something with the millions of cars coming into our country,’’ he warned.

NATO leaders had earlier ­ignored Mr Trump’s demands to ­escalate their defence spending to 4 per cent of GDP — double the current target and almost three times the expenditure of Germany and France.

Donald Trump shares a bit of distance with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Picture: AP

Mr Stoltenberg shifted the meeting into an allies-only emergency session when Mr Trump forcefully insisted on a much faster timeline than the existing 2024 commitment. Invited European leaders, such as EU officials, and Australian Defence Minister Marise Payne, were told to the leave the room.

Mr Trump insisted countries would now meet his 2 per cent demand. “Some are at 2 per cent, some are going back to get their approval, which they will get; after 2 per cent we will talk about going higher. I think 4 per cent is much fairer,’’ he said.

Diplomats in the room said Mr Trump told the leaders that unless the wealthiest European countries, such as Germany, France, Italy and Spain, hit the 2 per cent target by January “we are going to do our own thing”.

In a lengthy tirade, Mr Trump launched into a personal attack on Belgium and Germany’s military spending, according to one of the people familiar with the discussion. “I’m not happy,” he said, according to the person. He told allies that he wanted them to immediately meet the spending goal, or at least commit to a date when they would do so.

“It was a little tough for a little while,” Mr Trump said at his news conference later. “But you can ask anybody in that meeting, they’re really liking what happened over the last two days.”

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said he “didn’t feel offended” by Mr Trump’s “straight talk” and said his country wasn’t the only one singled out. Belgium remains committed to NATO’s 2 per cent goal, but he stressed that many Europeans have “budgetary constraints” and such increases can only come gradually. “It’s not realistic to believe that we will reach 2 per cent next year,” he said.

German Chancellor Mrs Merkel told reporters following the emergency session that it had been a “very intense summit” with “very serious discussions.”

“The US President demanded what has been discussed for months, that the burden sharing changes,” she said. “I made clear we are on this path and that this is in our interest and that it reinforces us mutually.”

French President Mr Macron said allies reconfirmed what they had already pledged in recent years, to increase their defence spending to 2 per cent by 2024. But he didn’t mention any country committing to fresh spending following the discussion.

The turmoil on display during the summit dismayed diplomats and some US officials, who had been eager for a show of unity ahead of Mr Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki on Monday.

“Maybe we will get along with Russia,” Mr Trump said at his news conference. “I think we probably will be able to.” Much of the joint declaration NATO leaders issued focuses on the alliance’s role as a defence against Russia, saying “aggressive actions” by the country had “reduced stability and security, increased unpredictability, and changed the security environment.”

Senator Payne later said Australia has “a good story to tell’’ to counter any United States potential demands to double spending on defence to four per cent of gross domestic product.

Immediately after the emergency meeting, Mr Trump, Mrs Merkel, British prime minister Theresa May, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and NATO leaders attended the Resolute Support Mission meeting, attended by Senator Payne.

Senator Payne said the leaders had come from that “full and frank’’ discussion into the resolute support mission and they engaged “in a really positive and constructive way, which I was pleased to see’’.

When asked if Australia could afford to increase defence spending to four per cent of GDP, Senator Payne said it had been a subject of discussion between Mr Trump and Malcolm Turnbull.

“We worked very hard under development of the defence white paper to do a full structural review ... to plan an integrated investment program that spreads the spend out over this decade and then the next, to make sure we have the capability we need to play the role we play in our own region and then more broadly as coalition partners in a number of theatres.

“We have a very good story to tell, it has been a subject of discussion between the prime minister and president in the past and I continue to reinforce the contribution we are already making.’’

With The Wall Street Journal