Dutch government defence choices stir controversy

The announcement of cuts to military spending and the purchase of new aircrafts for the Royal Dutch Air Force raised controversies in the Dutch media on Wednesday. The Dutch government announced additional cuts of 350 million euros (467 million U.S. dollars) in defense spending with 2,400 jobs disappearing and 700 to 900 redundancies. Two years ago, the former government announced 1 billion euros of cuts in defense with 6,000 redundancies. "This is really the last round of cuts, explained Defense Minister Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said. "We have to make choices to finally bring the finances of defense in order. There had to be a solution and we had to make painful but necessary choices." Commander of the Armed Forces General Tom Middendorp acknowledged the cuts would affect future operations. He told Dutch national television NOS that there was only room for one mission abroad for the army and the navy. "That's a big difference compared with the past," he added. Military unions were shocked by the latest round of cuts. "The confidence of the army will fall to the lowest point," reacted military union AFMP president Anne Marie Snels. "The last reorganization has even not been completed yet. What we note is that teams are not at its strongest, insufficient equipment and education is not good enough. Another reorganization and we will hit rock bottom." Jean Debie, president of the union for civil and military defense personnel VBM, said, "This means a loss of 26,500 people in the last ten years. This is disastrous for the armed forces," he said to BNR radio. Besides the cuts, the Dutch government also announced the purchase of 35 F-35 aircrafts, called Joint Strike Fighters (JSFs), from U.S. aircraft manufacturer Lockheed Martin. Opponents of the deal argued the purchase was too expensive. On Tuesday, Party of Freedom leader Geert Wilders accused the cabinet of spending billions of euros on the JSF fighter jets while cutting pensioner incomes. The costs of the investment in the F-35s amounts a total of 4.5 billion euros. The aircrafts will replace the current F-16s in 2019 after being used by the Dutch Royal Air Force since 1979. "We had to replace the F-16s and could no longer delay," said Defense Minister Hennis-Plasschaert. "We chose the best aircraft, also the safest device and with the best possibilities for future development. We can use them for at least 30 to 40 years. We have deliberately chosen the best aircraft."