Since the beginning of the latest conflicts in the Middle East and the exchange of fire between Hamas and Israel, there have been more and more security warnings. In this spirit, the countries of the region are increasingly securing their borders. Agreements on the purchase and sale of weapons are also made. It is not rare to hear calls like that of former Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša to arm ourselves. Is the Western Balkans preparing to once again become a place on the geopolitical chessboard where spears break?
“The devil took the joke away. Arm yourself. Legally,” said Janša.
The smart ones understood the call. The others will trust Golob, that they are capable of protecting Slovenia, but also them personally in case of terrorist attacks – said the former Slovenian Prime Minister. He is dissatisfied, he says, with the level of protection in Slovenia. Realized or not, three things are clear, emphasized Janša – tightening of the security situation, the set of authorities is not nearly capable of timely assessments, everyone has the right and duty to do everything possible within the framework of the constitutional order to protect their family and homeland. In this light, Croatia also went public with information about the purchase of weapons. In the current political light, defense is key, confirmed Andrej Plenković, the Prime Minister of Croatia, at a stormy session of the parliament where, despite opposition opposition, he submitted the annual report.
Croatia bought Rafale fighter jets earlier than France, which the president believes were bought only for the election campaign. Rather because of Serbia, because by purchasing Rafale aircraft, it made the biggest purchase in its history, if it had not done that, Croatia would have lagged far behind Serbia.
According to the data for 2022, Serbia is ahead of Croatia in terms of the strength of its army, just like a year before. In 2022, Serbia is ranked 61st out of 140 countries, and Croatia is one step behind, at 62. Last year, Serbia was in the same place, 61st, and Croatia in 63rd place. The fact that Croatia has been a member of the NATO Alliance since 2009 should not be overlooked, so it must be prepared and equipped accordingly. Military exercises are also conducted on its territory.
Serbia is also arming itself. With the help of long-time Chinese friends. The agreement on the purchase of new Chinese weapons for Serbia was finalized with Vučić’s visit to China.
Serbia is well placed in its arming industry, as the arms fair in Dubai showed. This year, Serbia invested perhaps the most money in armaments among the countries in the region, while for next year’s budget, it plans to invest more money in salaries.
It is also necessary to mention Kosovo and Albania, where the majority of the army is made up of international forces, as well as Montenegro, which invested a lot in the purchase of weapons this year. In the light of the current atmosphere in the world, does arming only mean a display of power, justifying the spent budget, fighting each other, or do the countries of the Western Balkans want to be prepared for scenarios that have already happened in previous wars?, Federalna reports.
