NATO members are grappling with renewed pressure from US President-elect Donald Trump, who has called for America’s allies to spend 3 per cent of GDP on defence.
Rutte, a former Dutch prime minister, said that the alliance must step up on defence production, calling on governments to “stop creating barriers between each other and between industries, banks and pension funds”.
He sent a message to the defence industry: “There is money on the table, and it will only increase. So dare to innovate and take risks”.
The NATO chief also warned of a “coordinated campaign to destabilise our societies” including cyberattacks and assassination attempts.
Rutte also cautioned about China’s ambitions, saying that Beijing is substantially building up its forces “with no transparency and no limitations”.
