Did Trump's speech at the South Carolina rally on February 10 frighten Europe? So much so that on February 13, the German government called on Britain and France to cooperate in the unified establishment of a nuclear deterrent to counter Russia.
But will Europe be able to do it in a short period of time? What does it teach us?
British avant-garde class strategic missile nuclear submarines
1. Trump frightens Europe
On February 10, Republican Trump, who is running in the 2024 U.S. presidential primary, said in a speech that he would "encourage" Russia to "do whatever it wants" to NATO allies that fail to meet their financial obligations.
In layman's terms: Without paying protection money to the United States, Trump supports Russia in its invasion of their country.
As soon as Trump's words came out, Europe was in an uproar, and strictly speaking, Europe "won the Cold War lying down". After the Cold War, Europe was bathed in the sunshine of peace, and relying on the United States, its armament was even more relaxed: France's monthly output of artillery shells was only 2,000 to 3,000 rounds; Germany's tanks were only one-tenth of that of the Cold War; and Britain's army had only 80,000 men, and with 30,000 in reserves, it was only 110,000...... This is true for the big European countries, and the current situation of other countries can be imagined.
Screenshot of a video of Trump's speech in South Carolina
In this way, as soon as Trump's words came out, it can be said that he frightened Europe. Even the integration of European nuclear deterrence forces has been proposed.
2. Germany's Appeal: Cooperation in Nuclear Deterrence
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported on February 13 that German Finance Minister Christian Lindner pointed out that if former U.S. President Donald Trump is re-elected and the United States decides not to protect NATO's European allies, the German government is in favor of expanding cooperation with France and Britain in nuclear deterrence.
"As long as there are nuclear weapons in the world, Europe must also adhere to the nuclear deterrence system so as not to be defenseless against the blackmail of authoritarian states," he said. ”
Strictly speaking, before Germany called on Britain and France to cooperate in nuclear deterrence, Downing Street revealed that European countries are strengthening cooperation and going all out to ensure the victory of aid to Ukraine without the support of the United States.
German Finance Minister
If Britain and France cooperate in nuclear deterrence, it can be seen as the ultimate power that Europe is building itself independent of the United States.
At present, France has 300 nuclear warheads, most of which are installed on four Triumph-class strategic nuclear submarines, the "Triumph," the "Reckless," the "Vigilance," and the "Fearful," while the British nuclear warheads are about 260, mainly on four "avant-garde" class strategic missile submarines, and the two countries have a total of eight strategic missile submarines with a total of 560 nuclear warheads, which is an order of magnitude lower than that of the US and Russian nuclear arsenals.
Among them, the French M20 submarine-launched ballistic missile is independently developed, while the British Trident D5 is the same as the United States.
III. Concluding remarks
After the Cold War, Europe has always relied on the United States for security, and then the swords and guns have been put into storage, and the horses have been released in Nanshan for 30 years, and then the swords and guns have rusted, and the horses have become old and unbearable.
People say that the 10-year army and 100-year navy will be a nuclear deterrent comparable to that of the United States and Russia, and I don't know how long it will take. Forging an army capable of fighting and winning is by no means an overnight thing. For a fragmented country like Europe and the formation of a unified pace, it is almost impossible to achieve it in a short time.
France tests the latest submarine-launched missile, the M52
In this way, German Chancellor Scholz, British Foreign Minister Mecameron, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg personally went to the United States to lobby for aid to Ukraine, and as for verbal appeals to the United States to fulfill its commitments, there are even more.
What does the division between Europe and the United States tell us? As Italian Prime Minister Meloni said: Rely on others for security, and one day we will find that we have lost everything.
For the Chinese nation: you can't rely on others, only self-reliance, only self-improvement!