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La Segunda, June 20, 2019
Juan Pablo Toro V.
Under this title, Mr. Felipe Agüero indicates that opportunities in the defense sector arise because a financing system for the acquisition of material and the development of strategic capabilities will be discussed, different from the Copper Law, and the existing minimum floors for the current budget will be eliminated. In the article, he suggests that his vision of an opportunity in defense lies in how to divert resources from the national defense function.
We agree that there is a significant opportunity in defense, but we disagree that this opportunity arises solely from the discussion of financing. The opportunity is presented by the radical change that has occurred recently in the international scenario and its potential impact on the country, which depends on stable conditions for its foreign trade, development, and well-being, in which the Armed Forces are key.
In a global world, where the instability of a region or a country can lead to humanitarian crises or state collapses that allow the establishment of transnational criminal organizations, what role will we assign to our Armed Forces? Not to mention our vulnerability to cyberattacks. Do we need to maintain a military service or transition to fully professional and highly technical Armed Forces?
Political control over the Armed Forces cannot be represented solely by the resources allocated to them. That is the antithesis of the command responsibility that falls on the executive power. The opportunity in defense arises because it is time to work together on foreign relations and defense policies. We need to define the Armed Forces we want and the mission areas we will assign them. What will we understand by versatility and how far will we extend it?
From those political definitions, we can begin to discuss force structures, strategic capabilities, personnel, and talent management. Once all those tasks are completed, we will be in a position to exercise true control over the resource variable, where minimum floors are a horizon of certainty in a world where geopolitical risk is increasing, as noted in the IISS report “Asia-Pacific Regional Security Assessment 2019,” for example.
The true opportunity in defense lies in dispelling the outdated view that everything reduces to resource allocation and understanding that in the 21st century, other standards of political control are required. The Armed Forces, which are there to prevent conflicts and contribute to peace, are part of this joint effort of the entire country, and civil society must be involved. The opportunity in defense is now available to enter the debate without biases about what defense Chile needs.
Juan Pablo Toro
Executive Director AthenaLab
