What Asia can learn from European rearmament

Europe's pivot serves as a warning: US military intervention should no longer be taken for granted

20250526 deep insight

From left: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump-era U.S. policy has prompted Europe to take greater responsibility for its own defense. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Reuters)

HIROYUKI AKITA

TALLINN, Estonia -- Europe is undergoing its most dramatic security realignment since the end of the Cold War, a shift with far-reaching implications for the continent and beyond. At the heart of this transformation is a growing determination to strengthen its own defense capabilities while reducing reliance on the U.S. military.

The impetus for this pivot is twofold: the immediate threat posed by an increasingly belligerent Russia, and growing unease over the unpredictability of U.S. military support under President Donald Trump. But this is not solely Europe's concern. Asia, despite its geographic distance, cannot afford to see these developments as completely irrelevant.

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