By Liu Cheng

Lithuania launched the construction of a German military base with a breaking ceremony in the Rūdninkai training area close to the Belarusian border in late August, a move supported by the NATO Military Committee, German Federal Ministry of Defence, and Lithuanian Ministry of National Defence. Foreign media outlets reported that the construction of the military base was of profound and far-reaching influence, allowing Germany to station troops overseas permanently and develop its military capabilities at a faster pace, free from the historical burden as a losing party in WWII.

A milestone of the "lighthouse project"

The military deployment plan, called the "lighthouse project", was clinched by German and Lithuanian defense ministers at the end of 2023. The two sides have had consultations on the scale of the deployment, siting of the barracks, and progress of the implementation since then. In the first half of this year, the two countries agreed to build two barracks at Rūdninkai and Rukla near Vilnius and Kaunas respectively, two major cities located in eastern and central Lithuania that feature convenient rail transport, with Kaunas being the hub of the future underground transport system of the three Baltic countries. According to foreign media reports, it takes only more than half a year from negotiations and consultations to the official beginning of the construction, indicating how important the military bases are in the two countries' defense cooperation.

The Rūdninkai military base, with relevant facilities, is expected to cost more than one billion Euros (about US$1.1 billion), which will primarily be borne by the Lithuanian government, while Germany will invest in the facilities around the base. Starting in 2025, the base will be gradually put into use while construction is still going on, and the German Bundeswehr will complete its deployments in succession. In 2027, Germany's first permanent military base abroad will be in full operation.

A milestone of Germany's military reform

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said the construction and use of the military base in Lithuania is a significant event responding to Berlin's political proclamation of a "Zeitenwende", or "change of times". The first permanent military base that Germany has ever built abroad after it joined NATO in 1955, it is also an essential measure of Germany's most massive ever military reform, denoting the accelerated implementation of Germany's outbound military development policy.

Germany and Lithuania plan to adopt rapid support for the deployment of brigades, meaning that German troops can enter Lithuania under simplified entry procedures as required by the situation on the battlefield, and quickly proceed to the Rukla training area in central Lithuania before being deployed for defense operations with Rūdninkai as the forward pivot. It is reported that as Germany is dancing ever more eagerly to America's tune, it is now imitating the American model in building the overseas base and deploying its troops, with a view to becoming NATO's "bellwether" in Europe through outbound military buildup.

An impetus to NATO's eastward expansion

As a main participant – and a losing party – in both world wars, Germany's launch of its first overseas military base and its deployment plan are worrying some European countries. French media accused the Scholz administration of abandoning pacifism, and some Lithuanian people have put up protests condemning their government for forgetting the miseries that East Europe went through during WWII. In their eyes, allowing the entry of German troops is as harmful as setting the fox to keep the geese.

NATO without any doubt is happy to see Germany send troops overseas and encourages its decision. It is reported that the Rūdninkai and Rukla bases will be officially put into use at around the same time as NATO's military bases in Romania and Finland, and they are just so located as to connect the pole region, the Baltic Sea, and Europe's east wing and southern hinterland. Linking the western and eastern European regions, Germany's military bases in Lithuania will essentially serve as the route to project NATO troops to the frontline of East Europe, which may further stimulate NATO's eastward expansion and aggravate regional conflict.