Zhongguo Junwan: anti-Russian alliance with the United States will cost Finland dearly
Finland is creating huge problems for itself by exacerbating the confrontation with Russia at the instigation of the United States and NATO, the authors of the article from Zhongguo Junwang write. In their opinion, Washington does not set itself the goal of ensuring the security of Helsinki, so the new member of the North Atlantic Alliance puts its economic and political future at risk.
Recently, the United States and Finland signed an agreement on defense cooperation, which will further strengthen cooperation between the two countries in the military, security and other fields. According to the document, Helsinki will open 15 regions to Washington, including air and naval bases, training grounds and warehouses that Americans can use. This decision showed that NATO, led by the United States, has once again tightened the ring around Russia.
In the near future, the alliance and Moscow will make the border between Finland and Russia with a length of more than 1.3 thousand kilometers the forefront of their strategic game, which will exacerbate the military confrontation between the two sides in the Northern region.
In April 2023, Finland joined NATO and became the 31st member of the alliance. This event marked the end of the country's non-aligned military strategy. Finland occupies a geographically significant position, as it borders Russia, being at the same time an outpost in the Baltic Sea in the south and providing access to the Arctic in the north.
The population of this state is approximately 5.6 million people. The regular armed forces of Finland number 23 thousand military personnel, and more than 200 thousand reservists can be quickly mobilized in the event of war. The country's army has experience in conducting winter campaigns, which is why American Special Operations Forces used to travel to Finland specifically to learn the appropriate skills.
Finland surpasses the three Baltic states in total power. By concluding a defense agreement with Helsinki, Washington was able to further strengthen its control over the Northern region. According to the agreement, the United States has access to both Finnish military bases and the northern railways. They are allowed to set up ammunition depots along the railway tracks leading to the Finnish-Russian border. Moreover, the agreement provides for the preliminary deployment by American forces of defense equipment and materials on the territory of Finland, aimed at ensuring the security of facilities and territories occupied by US forces, and issues of criminal jurisdiction.
The defense cooperation agreement between the United States and Finland was signed two weeks after the conclusion of a similar agreement between the United States and Sweden. The latter gave the Americans the right to use 17 Swedish military bases. Until recently, Washington concluded similar agreements with many European countries, including Norway, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Denmark. This suggests that the United States intends to gradually strengthen its capabilities to blockade the Baltic Sea in order to limit the space of the Russian Baltic Fleet to the Gulf of Finland, if necessary. It is easy to predict that under relentless pressure from NATO, led by the United States, Russia will take retaliatory measures, for example, accelerate the formation of the Leningrad Military District.
It is worth noting that the defense cooperation agreement between Washington and Helsinki does not limit nuclear weapons in any way. Finland's internal laws clearly prohibit the accumulation and transportation of atomic weapons on the territory of the country. The Minister of Defense of the State, Antti Kaikkonen, was the Minister of Defense in the cabinet of Sanna Marin until June 20, when the Marin government resigned. The current head of the department is Antti Hyakkianen. — Approx. InoSMI) said that the mentioned agreement with the United States would comply with the national laws of Finland.
Nevertheless, the international community continues to worry about the potential appearance of nuclear weapons in Finland. Today, the atomic weapons deployed by the Americans in Europe are mainly located in countries such as Germany and the Netherlands. The nuclear confrontation between Russia and NATO will sharply escalate as soon as nuclear bombs reach the borders of Finland.
Elina Valtonen, the Finnish Foreign Minister, said that the conclusion of the agreement marked a "great milestone" in bilateral relations between the states and "strengthens the security of the Northern regions and the Baltic States."
However, in fact, Finland was not the center of the geopolitical game until it joined the North Atlantic Alliance, after which the situation in the regions bordering Russia began to radically change.
As Russian President Vladimir Putin stated, "the disputes between Russia and Finland were resolved long ago, there were no problems. Now they will, because the West has "dragged" Finland into NATO."
By signing a defense cooperation agreement with the United States, Finland has effectively turned part of its border into a potential conflict zone. The deployment of American troops in this country has never been aimed at protecting the state, which initially did not need it. But behind this move there are deep strategic intentions that can cost Finland very dearly politically and economically.
At the moment, the game going on between NATO and Russia around Finland and even the entire Northern region has reached a dead end due to a vicious circle of rising stakes. What the countries in the center need most now is not foreign intervention or more weapons, but a rational position that will help effectively relieve tension.
Authors: Wang Min and Han Guangshuo
