US pivot to Asia puts pressure on Germany, Philip Hammond says

The United States’ strategic shift towards Asia means nations like Germany must do more to take responsibility for European security, Philip Hammond will say today.

The Defence Secretary will use a speech in Berlin to urge Germany to reform its Armed Forces, adopt a more adventurous defence policy and be more willing to contribute to international operations.

Despite being Europe’s biggest economy, Germany’s military power lags well behind that of Britain and France.

A debate is underway in Germany about the reform of the armed forces, and Mr Hammond will back the work of his German counterpart, Thomas de Maiziere.

“The responsibility of European nations to defend their citizens can no longer be discharged by a strategy of homeland defence and a Fortress Europe,” Mr Hammond will tell a Berlin think-tank.

The US has begun a “strategic pivot” towards the Pacific, focussing more of its military and diplomatic resources on Asia and the rise of China.

Mr Hammond will say that this shift should spur a change in the way European nations

“Let me be clear about this - it is in Europe’s interest that the United States rises to the challenge that the emergence of China as a global power presents. But that means we, the nations of Europe, must do more to take on responsibility for our own back yard.”

Mr Hammond will admit that in an age of austerity it is “a waste of breath to call for more defence spending”. He will say: “If we can’t spend more, we must do things differently. Maximising the capability we can squeeze out of the resources we have.”