About the US Defense Strategy and Romania's Position

In a few hours, the Pentagon approved the U.S. Defense Strategy (not to be confused with the National Security Strategy).
Considering the profound effects for Romania, this should be the wake-up call of the year for us and the awakening of the nation. We must strongly strengthen our own defense and security structures and tighten ties with European allies in parallel with the hope that the U.S. will consider the missile defense shield at Deveselu as part of American strategic protection (including Golden Dome).
Here are the essential implications for Romania:
1. Russia remains a real but manageable threat to NATO's eastern flank, of which Romania is a part. Even though Russia has economic and demographic problems, its military and industrial capacity remains significant, and its determination to support prolonged conflicts in its neighborhood poses a direct risk to regional security.
2. Conventional defense of Europe will increasingly depend on NATO European states, including Romania, as the U.S. will prioritize the defense of its own territory and deterring China. This suggests increased pressure on European allies to strengthen their military capabilities and defense budgets.
3. The economic and demographic superiority of NATO Europe over Russia provides a strategic advantage, which means that, for Romania, the key to security lies in strengthening NATO cooperation, collective deterrence, and coordinated support for Ukraine as a stabilizing element on the eastern flank.
Below, the complete text extracted from the Strategy, relevant to Romania.
Russia will remain a persistent but manageable threat to NATO's eastern members in the foreseeable future. Indeed, although Russia faces a variety of demographic and economic difficulties, its ongoing war in Ukraine shows that it still has deep reserves of military and industrial power. Russia has also demonstrated that it has the national determination necessary to sustain a prolonged war in its immediate neighborhood. Furthermore, although the Russian military threat is primarily focused on Eastern Europe, Russia also possesses the largest nuclear arsenal in the world, which it continues to modernize and diversify, as well as underwater, space, and cyber capabilities that it could use against the continental territory of the United States.
In this context, the Department will ensure that U.S. forces are prepared to defend against Russian threats to U.S. national territory. The Department will also continue to play a vital role within NATO, even as we calibrate the posture and activities of U.S. forces in the European theater to better account for the Russian threat to American interests, as well as the capabilities of our allies.
Moscow is not in a position to make an attempt at European hegemony. European NATO far exceeds Russia in terms of economic size, population, and therefore latent military power. At the same time, although Europe remains important, it holds a smaller and declining share of global economic power. This results in that, although we are and will remain involved in Europe, we must — and will — prioritize the defense of U.S. national territory and deterring China.
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National Defense Strategy
The economic capacity of NATO (excluding the U.S.) far exceeds that of Russia
Nominal GDP in trillions of U.S. dollars (2024)
NATO excluding the U.S.: 26 trillion USD
Russia: 2 trillion USD
Source: World Bank (2024)
Fortunately, our NATO allies are substantially stronger than Russia — the difference is by no means small. Germany's economy alone far exceeds that of Russia. At the same time, under President Trump's leadership, NATO allies committed to increasing defense spending to the new global standard of 5% of GDP in total, with 3.5% of GDP invested in concrete military capabilities. Our NATO allies are therefore in a strong position to take primary responsibility for the conventional defense of Europe, with critical but more limited support from the U.S. This includes taking the lead in supporting Ukraine's defense. As President Trump stated, the war in Ukraine must end. As he also emphasized, however, this is primarily Europe's responsibility. Ensuring and maintaining peace will therefore require leadership and commitment from our NATO allies.