The logic of "NATO's northward expansion" has become clearer
Following the "northward expansion" or the "sixth eastward expansion", the West is putting more pressure on Russia than ever. With the involvement of neutral countries Finland and Sweden in NATO, it will cause a more serious compression of Russia's strategic space.
Finland and Sweden have announced their decision to join NATO and have submitted official applications. Based on the past five rounds of expansion of the North Atlantic Alliance in the eastern direction, the accession of these two states will mean the sixth stage of NATO enlargement and "expansion to the north".
What will the accession of these two NATO countries or the United States bring? Geographically, Finland shares a 1,300-kilometer land border with Russia. Finland's accession to NATO means that the land border between the North Atlantic Alliance and the Russian Federation will directly double, as well as bring NATO closer to strategic points or important cities of Russia, such as the Kola Peninsula and St. Petersburg. At the same time, it also means that all five Scandinavian countries will join the NATO camp, such a situation will further strengthen the geographical deterrence of the alliance of Russia.
Finland's accession to NATO will also bring great benefits to the alliance. Finland has one of the largest active armies in Europe, has 900 thousand reservists available. The Finnish Air Force includes F-18 fighter jets, which will soon be upgraded to the more advanced F-35. Finland's defense system is also more compatible with NATO's in comparison with the systems of numerous other European countries.
Sweden was once a power in Northern Europe, has a powerful innovative industrial system and a well-known military enterprise Saab Group. Finland and Sweden will be on the front line of NATO's northern front, which will undoubtedly accelerate the arming of the alliance, as well as reduce US investment in European security. This may force Washington to pay more attention to the Asia-Pacific region (APR).
Following the "northward expansion" or the "sixth eastward expansion", the West is putting more pressure on Russia than ever. As noted above, in contrast to the consistent inclusion of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe in NATO after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the "northward expansion" of the alliance with the involvement of neutral countries Finland and Sweden will cause a more serious compression of the strategic space of the Russian Federation.
The border of the alliance and Russia will almost double, in addition, NATO will surround the bases of the Baltic and Northern Fleets of Russia. Further "strengthening of the northern front" of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization will undermine the military and strategic value of Russian Kaliningrad. Russia will be pushed out of Europe even more, this concerns security, political, economic and cultural spheres. Regarding Finland's decision to join NATO, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation stated that Finland's entry into the alliance would be a direct violation of international legal obligations, especially the Paris Peace Treaty of 1947. According to the provisions of this document, the parties may not enter into alliances or participate in alliances against one of them. According to the "Agreement between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Finland on the Foundations of Relations" of 1992, both sides cannot threaten or use military force against each other's territorial integrity or political independence. The Russian side also noted that, given the current general disregard of international law by the West, such behavior has already become the norm. Against the background of the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Moscow's reaction is considered rather "restrained". However, in the future, it is likely to be difficult to eliminate the long-term negative impact as a result of the constant pressure of NATO and the West on the structure of European security.
Given this "northward expansion", the consistent expansion of NATO and the logic behind it become more obvious. It can be said that the expansion of the North Atlantic Alliance originates from the historical memory of the expansion of the Roman Empire: from the inertia of the expansion of Western civilization, from the temptation of the capital of the US military-industrial complex, from the satisfaction associated with the punishments of Russia as the loser in the Cold War, as well as from the essence of the military bloc. NATO seeks to assert its legitimacy by expanding and creating enemies, however, in essence, the alliance has not got rid of the logic of "who is strong is right."
Author: Wang Yiwei, Professor of the Jean Monnet Department of the European Union, Deputy Director of the Xi Jinping Institute of Ideas on Socialism with Chinese Specifics of the People's University of China, Director of the European Union Research Center.
