Recently, Serbian President Vučić confirmed during his visit to Paris that the country will purchase 12 Rafale fighter jets from France, and the agreement is close to being reached, with a total value of 3 billion euros.
At a time when the international situation is complicated, and Serbia, which is in the "Balkan powder keg", needs to build a strong air force to ensure its own defense, and it is not surprising that Serbia is in a "Balkan powder keg" and purchases fighter planes from foreign countries in order to meet the needs of its own security.
French Rafale fighter
In the past, Serbia mainly purchased fighter jets from Russia, for example, many of the fighters currently in service in the Serbian Air Force are still Soviet-made MiG-29s. It's just that since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Russia has been subject to joint sanctions by the United States and the European Union, and Serbia has had to turn to other arms suppliers.
If you only consider it from the aspect of cost performance, in fact, the purchase of China's J-10C is also a good choice, coupled with the iron-clad friendship between Serbia and China, defense cooperation is also more guaranteed. Previously, Serbia had purchased a batch of "Red Flag" anti-aircraft missiles from China, and the People's Liberation Army sent Y-20 transport planes to escort them all the way to their doorstep.
But now Serbia has finally handed over the fighter purchase order to France, which may be dominated by political factors. It is no secret that Serbia has been seeking to join the EU for the sake of economic development, but its "application for joining the group" has been repeatedly shelved by the EU due to its refusal to follow the West in sanctioning Russia.
Vučić visits France
In order to force Serbia to succumb, the United States and Europe have used the Kosovo issue to put pressure on Serbia, but Vučić made it clear that although Serbia is a small country, it will never give in, will never give up its territory, and is unlikely to join NATO, and will never agree to anyone to divide Serbia.
Vučić's resolute attitude has bankrupted the attempts of the United States and Europe, but another practical problem in front of Serbia is the problem of survival and development, and now that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has entered its third year, the United States and Europe have wantonly wielded the stick of sanctions to disrupt the global supply chain, making the situation of small and medium-sized countries like Serbia more and more difficult.
Under the pressure of reality, Serbia had to make some concessions in exchange for the EU's "loosening" at the political and economic levels. In addition to fighter planes, Serbia has also purchased weapons and equipment from the European Union, such as H125M helicopters, C295 transport planes, and Mistral surface-to-air missiles.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
On April 8, when French President Emmanuel Macron met with Vučić at the Elysee Palace, he advised him to "move closer to the European Union" and said that no matter what kind of "trauma" it has experienced, Serbia should have no doubt that its future lies in the "European Union" and not in "the rest of the world".
Macron also said that Serbia should ensure that its foreign policy is aligned with that of the European Union, and that Belgrade should "normalize relations" with Kosovo. The first half of the passage is clearly meant by a reminder that Serbia must distance itself from Russia and even China if it wants to receive economic commitments from the EU.
As we all know, it was at the instigation of the United States and Western countries that Kosovo unilaterally declared "independence," but it did not obtain the consent of the vast majority of countries in the world, including China and Russia, and Serbia has always insisted on sovereignty over Kosovo.
Serbian tank troops
The facts are in front of us, but the French side still says that Belgrade wants to "normalize relations" with Kosovo, which seems to be calling for peace, but in fact it is just a muddy and wants the Kosovo issue to become an unsolvable problem forever. This arrogant attitude has made Serbia see more clearly the true face of the United States and the West.
So the day after his visit to France, Vučić met with visiting Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao in the Serbian capital. He said in person that the Serbian side attaches great importance to the comprehensive strategic partnership with China, especially thanked the Chinese side for its valuable support to Serbia over the years, and promised to continue to support the development and operation of Chinese enterprises in Serbia.
The Chinese side also expressed its willingness to work with Serbia to deepen bilateral relations and strengthen cooperation in trade, investment, and infrastructure construction between the two countries. China's remarks are very simple and sincere, and they just speak to the hearts of the Serbian people, and the Chinese side has given them a "reassurance" without saying a word about the economic cooperation they are desperately seeking.
Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao visited Serbia
Of course, in addition to talking about economic cooperation, the Serbian side also had a small request, and Vučić expressed his hope in person that he hoped to learn from China's experience and experience in running the World Expo. It can be seen that although Serbia is a small country, it has national integrity, and it hopes to learn more from China's development experience and enhance its influence in the international community.