EUROPEAN DIALOGUE | Experts: Neutrality protects you as long as you are not under attack. Modernizing the National Army means replacing the old with the new (AUDIO)
The Russian-Ukrainian war has forced the authorities to pay more attention to Moldova’s security and defense sector, which is underdeveloped and underfunded. At the same time, events in the region have shown that Moldova’s assumed neutral status cannot protect us in the event of possible aggression. Experts stress that the neutrality status does not prevent us from modernizing and equipping the National Army.
The Russian Federation’s act of aggression against Ukraine has prompted the Moldovan authorities to pay due attention to the security and defense sector. Expert Victor Juc, director of the Institute of Legal and Sociological Research: “For 30 years, under the guise of neutrality and lack of money, the authorities did not pay due attention to the defense sector, but the war in Ukraine has shown that this is a global phenomenon, it has not only military repercussions but also other repercussions, energy, food, hydrocarbon supply, and it is very important that finally attention is being paid to the national security and defense system. Neutrality does not imply disarmament, but the need to strengthen military capabilities and capacities”.
The modernization of the National Army implies, first of all, replacing the old with the new, emphasized Major Marin Butuc, director of the Doctoral School of Military and National Security Sciences: “This is done without the intention to increase the number of personnel, but we are talking about improving quality. In terms of armament and equipment, we are not talking about equipping with lethal weapons and we are not talking about increasing the number of military personnel, but we are talking about replacing the old with the new. Why do we need this maderization? First of all, what the defense establishment owns are machines, installations produced in the 1970-80s, obsolete technology and equipment. Their maintenance costs are considerable; for some military machines there are no spare parts. The maintenance and high costs lead one to think that it would be much more reasonable to own modern maneuverable technology with much lower maintenance costs. Two. As far as consumption is concerned, from the perspective of economics, we are talking about rationalizing certain expenses in terms of maintenance and consumption of these machines. There is also the technical safety aspect. Operating with technology produced in the 70s and 80s involves certain risks in terms of technical security, it is very dangerous to operate and needs to be replaced. There is another important reason, our tendency to be present in the context of cooperation with other international militaries. We are talking about this goal that has been displayed for years – the interoperability of the National Army, you cannot be interoperable with the technique produced at that time. You have to be equipped and equipped as modern armies are supposed to be equipped and equipped”.
Victor Juc, director of the Institute for Legal and Sociological Research: “Neutrality protects you as long as you are not attacked. We have seen what neutrality costs Ukraine, on the other hand we see what NATO membership means for the Baltic States, which are sure that their defense and security is ensured by the North Atlantic Alliance. Romania has also set out to modernize its army. It is very important in this context to get rid of everything that is old, Soviet”.
Marin Butuc, director of the Doctoral School of Military and National Security Sciences, underlined that the state of neutrality allows us to develop and modernize our defense sector: “Several subjective opinions have been circulated for 30 years, that we do not need the army, that neutrality protects us, that we do not need cooperation, that we would violate the status of neutrality, which is not true. We have an assumed neutrality status. We do not have a policy of neutrality, just an assumed status. In all the cooperations that the Ministry of Defense has, alliance or bilateral partnerships, it always emphasizes respect for the status of neutrality. In accordance with international law, the UN Charter, the Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe, it allows us to have armed forces, to modernize, to benefit from donations and to have sufficient, reasonable capabilities to be able to defend ourselves. The budget allocation for the defence system currently stands at 0.37 of GDP, which is insufficient for modernization ambitions. Making a basic comparison with other neutral states, which are not much larger than Moldova, Finland has an allocation of 5.5 billion dollars, Austria – 4 billion, Switzerland and Sweden – with 7.3 billion for the defense system. Because neutrality requires forces in order to be able to defend yourself, to be able to defend this neutrality”.