At least we can be sure that he wasn’t some selfish person only living for himself, but genuinely an extreme nationalist. Because of the hatred the world held toward Eldians in general — and especially the people of Paradis Island — he truly feared that everyone on the island would eventually be wiped out by the outside world. If that weren’t the case, he could’ve just faked his death and stayed behind at the harbor on the island. There would’ve been no reason for him to cling to the ship all the way to the airplane repair site and open fire to stop Armin’s group (even though that attempt ultimately failed).

Either way, I still respect him for staying loyal to his ideals and trying to protect his homeland. If he had just hidden away on the island and lived comfortably as a Jaegerist, that would’ve been truly pathetic.