NATO-hopeful Sweden is focused on getting its national security house in order as it waits for Turkey and Hungary, the last holdouts, to sign off on its joining the Western military alliance, Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson told a Washington audience Tuesday.
Mr. Jonson said Stockholm fully supports NATO’s benchmark committing members to spend at least 2% of GDP on defense. He called the 2% target a “floor but not the ceiling,” stressing that Sweden has rapidly increased its military spending and expects to hit $12 billion — double what it is today — in five years.
“By next year, we will reach 2.1% of GDP and we have a trajectory upwards as well,” Mr. Jonson told an audience at the D.C.-based Atlantic Council.
The war in Ukraine has forced Sweden and other European countries to radically rethink how they structure and support wartime logistics requirements. Finland, which has already joined NATO, and Sweden applied jointly to end decades of official neutrality and apply for membership after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
“Our defense industrial base is shaped for peacetime situations, not for wartime situation,” Mr. Jonson said. “Having a strong defense industrial base is also part of credible deterrence. That’s a lesson that we are grappling with.”
Sweden is known for its high standing in the world of technology, research and development and is applying that know-how to the defense realm. Although a smaller country of about 10 million people, Sweden produces a number of sophisticated weapon systems like submarines, fighter jets and artillery, Mr. Jonson said.
He said the government has devoted “sizable resources” for a defense innovation agency that he launched last year.
“This is all about making sure that alliances maintain the technological edge also for the foreseeable future, which is absolutely crucial for us as well,” Mr. Jonson said.
As a former parliamentarian himself, Mr. Jonson declined to criticize Hungarian and Turkish lawmakers for the pace of their decision to approve Sweden’s NATO bid. Turkey, the principal holdout, seems to be moving forward with its decision, he said, calling it a matter of “when” not “if” Stockholm joins the alliance.
Sweden is already preparing to host NATO military exercises inside the country along with pre-positioning weapons and ammunition that could be used in the event of an armed conflict with Russia, Mr. Jonson said.
Before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine prompted officials in Stockholm to set aside their tradition of great power nonalignment, the Kremlin had been pushing its own proposed international alliance, including Finland and Sweden, if they dropped any efforts to become part of NATO. That was a completely unacceptable demand, Mr. Jonson said.
“It would mean that we would have been part of a Russian sphere of influence,” he said. “It would also have been a dagger to the heart for our international defense cooperation.”
Sweden will not be coming into NATO’s ranks empty-handed, having been a close partner to the alliance for decades. Swedish troops fought in Afghanistan and were part of peacekeeping operations in Kosovo, Mr. Jonson said.
“We also have a high level of interoperability which will make our integration easier when Sweden joins the alliance,” he said. “Our assets and capabilities can also be plugged into NATO’s regional plans, which are absolutely vital for [the alliance’s] defense and deterrence.”
He noted that Ukraine was considered a “partner” to NATO before the invasion but not an official member, and thus could not invoke Article Five of NATO’s charter which calls for all alliance members to come to its defense.
“There is a difference between membership and partnership,” Mr. Jonson said. “If you want to have access to Article Five and if you want to have access to NATO’s common defense planning, you better join the alliance.”
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.
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