Jakarta, IO – According to Reuters, prominent German politician Wolfgang Schaeuble recently stated in an interview that Germany should support France’s nuclear arsenal upkeep as the fear of a nuclear war between the West and Russia looms over Europe, funding “in exchange for unified nuclear deterrence.”
As we all know, Germany, as the source of World War II and a defeated country, has already constitutionally barred the country from making and owning nuclear weapons in order to avert a repeat of the war’s tragedy and to demonstrate its willingness to safeguard peace. However, with the ongoing changes in worldwide security in recent years, particularly the worsening of European security, German society has began to pay attention to nuclear weapons.
This time, the German politician’s plan to fund France’s nuclear arsenal is a concentrated expression of this pattern of thought, with the intention of gaining control and use of nuclear weapons by jointly producing nuclear weapons with France and subsequently establishing a “EU nuclear weapons” force. If it is connected to the recent sequence of steps to raise military spending and grow the military, Germany’s future military development, particularly the nuclear policy trend, merits consideration.
The German nuclear safety policy might alter
The issue of nuclear weapons is extremely contentious in the international community, particularly in Germany. Germany has a lengthy history of nuclear weapons research and development, and it was one of the first countries in history to create nuclear weapons. However, due to its defeat in World War II, Germany halted nuclear weapons research and development. Although it contemplated creating nuclear weapons multiple times after the war, practically all countries rejected it.
Following its accession to the North Atlantic Treaty and inclusion under the United States’ “nuclear umbrella,” Germany was never given the chance or pitched the concept of producing nuclear weapons on its own. According to current nuclear force deployments in Europe, the US keeps around 180 B-61 nuclear bombs in six facilities in five critical European countries, including Germany’s Bucher Air Force Base. Germany obtained a portion of its nuclear attack capacity through this so-called “nuclear sharing” system by engaging in pertinent operational intelligence, force deployment, and deterrent.
The deployment of nuclear weapons by the United States in Germany, on the other hand, has long been opposed by the German population. People from all walks of life, including government leaders, have openly urged that the United States withdraw its nuclear weapons from Germany. For example, following the Cold War’s conclusion, several European countries began to question the logic of the United States’ nuclear weapons deployment in Europe. Germany, renowned as the “European leader,” is also a member in good standing. It also compares US military presence and nuclear weapons deployment with US military takeover of Germany, demonstrating a strong exclusionary mindset.