By Kong Gang
孔刚
The Swedish parliament recently approved a defense cooperation agreement that allows the US troops access to all its military bases. This has not only given a military boost to NATO, but will also reshape the regional landscape and aggravate bloc confrontation.
不久前，瑞典议会批准了与美国之间的防务合作协议，允许美军使用瑞典全境所有基地。此举不仅给北约带来军事上的助力，更将重塑地区版图，加剧阵营对抗。
Sweden is a strong military power. Its army has multiple heavy equipment, including the advanced Leopard 2 Main Battle Tank; its air force is equipped with hundreds of aircraft of various types, including fighter jets manufactured by the country itself; and its navy is armed with new types of vessels such as the stealthy Visby class corvettes. Sweden is capable of independently developing its main battle equipment. Its home-made advanced fighter Gripen can take off and land on regular highways in emergencies, and the Gotland Class submarine, the "masterpiece" of the Swedish military industry fitted with the Air-Independent Propulsion (AIP) system that supports sustained submerging, boasts good stealth performance and is reputed in the international defense market.
瑞典军事实力相当可观，陆军配备有西方先进的“豹2”主战坦克等多款重型装备；空军装备了包括国产战斗机在内的各型飞机数百架；海军列装了维斯比级隐形护卫舰等新型舰艇。瑞典具备自主研发主战装备的能力，国产“鹰狮”战斗机功能先进，在紧急情况下可利用普通高速公路起降。瑞典军事工业的“代表作”哥特兰级潜艇，具备支持长期潜航的不依赖空气推进系统，不易被敌方发现，在国际防务市场享有一定声誉。
Sweden's accession to NATO will expand NATO's military capacities in North Europe, squeeze Russia's strategic space, aggravate bloc confrontation in the region, and further deteriorate the security situation in Europe.
瑞典加入北约，将扩大该组织在北欧的军事力量，挤压俄罗斯战略空间，加剧地区阵营对抗，导致欧洲安全形势进一步恶化。
With its long coastline, Sweden can largely improve the geographical conditions for NATO's military deployments and increase its resources, enabling the organization to take advantage of Sweden's seaports and air force bases and integrate the military resources from Norway to Finland. With this, the Baltic Sea is more like an "internal lake" of NATO, and the Kaliningrad is further isolated from the Russian mainland.
拥有漫长海岸线的瑞典，使北约在军事地理上的条件大幅改善、拥有的资源显著增加。北约将能够充分利用瑞典的海港和空军基地，将挪威到芬兰的军事资源连成一片。波罗的海越发像北约“内湖”，使俄罗斯加里宁格勒更加孤立，与俄本土的联系愈加脆弱。
It must be pointed out that the Nordic balance that played a significant role during the Cold War is now gone with Sweden and Finland joining NATO. The balance used to protect North Europe from the highly charged military confrontation even in the zenith of the Cold War, but now the border between Russia and Finland has become the longest line of confrontation between Russia and NATO. It's foreseeable that with the disappearance of the buffer zone, the intense confrontation between Russia and the US-led West will be sustained for a long time in areas near the North Pole.
需要指出的是，冷战期间发挥了重要作用的“北欧平衡”，已经随着瑞典与芬兰加入北约一去不复返。该平衡保证了北欧地区即便在冷战对抗的高峰期，也能避免高度紧张的军事对峙。如今，俄罗斯与芬兰的边界甚至成为俄方和北约之间最长的对峙线。可以预见，随着缓冲地带的消失，俄与美西方在北极附近地区将长期处于紧张对峙状态。
However, the defense deal with the US has met opposition in Sweden, mainly regarding jurisdiction and the deployment of nuclear weapons, despite the parliamentary approval. Moscow has warned against NATO's northern expansion, saying that it will take corresponding retaliatory countermeasures considering the deployment of NATO's troops and equipment in the new members. Experts reckoned that joining NATO will hardly bring Sweden enduring peace as it wishes, but will instead increase the risk of embroiling it into war and conflicts.
瑞典与美国签署的防务合作协议尽管已获得瑞典议会批准，但在瑞典国内仍存在争议。相关争议主要涉及司法管辖权和核武器部署等问题。对于北约的北扩行为，俄罗斯方面曾发出警告，称将根据北约部队及其装备在新盟国境内的部署情况，采取相应的报复和反制措施。相关专家认为，瑞典“入约”难以给本国带来长久和平，反而增加被卷入战争和冲突的危险。
(The author is from the PLA National University of Defense Technology.)
（作者单位：国防科技大学）
