By Wang Min and Han Guangshuo

Recently, the US and Finland signed a defense cooperation agreement to further enhance their cooperation in military, security, and other fields. According to the agreement, Finland will open 15 areas including air bases, naval bases, training areas, and warehouses for use by the US. The move signified that the US-led NATO had tightened its encirclement of Russia again.

For days to come, NATO and Russia will position their frontline strategic game along the border line between Finland and Russia spanning over 1,300 kilometers, further escalating their military confrontation in the Nordic region.

In April 2023, Finland joined NATO as its 31st member state, marking the termination of military non-alignment strategy for the country. Finland occupies a geographically significant position by bordering Russia while establishing a stronghold in the Baltic Sea to the south and gaining entry into the Arctic region to the north.

Finland also has a population of about 5.6 million, standing armed forces comprising 23,000 troops, and the ability to quickly conscript more than 200,000 reservists in case of wars. The Finnish military is proficient in winter combat operations, so the US special operations forces had previously particularly traveled to this country to learn winter special operations skills.

Finland's overall strength is stronger compared with the three Baltic states. By concluding the defense cooperation agreement with Finland, the US will further strengthen its control over the Nordic region. According to the agreement, the US has access to both the military bases and northern railways of Finland and is allowed to set up ammunition storage facilities along the railways to the border between Finland and Russia. The agreement also involves prepositioning defense equipment and materials on the territory of Finland by US forces, ensuring the security of facilities and areas employed by the US military, and criminal jurisdiction issues.

The defense cooperation agreement between the US and Finland came two weeks after the former signed a similar agreement with Sweden, which granted the US the privilege to use 17 military bases of Sweden. Up to now, the US has concluded defense cooperation agreements with multiple European countries including Norway, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Denmark. These indicate that the US intends to gradually develop the ability to blockade the Baltic Sea to confine the actions of Russian Baltic fleets to the Gulf of Finland when needed. It can be predicted that under the relentless pressure of the NATO-led US, Russia will take measures such as accelerating the establishment of the Leningrad Military District in response.

It is worth noting that the defense cooperation agreement signed by the US and Finland does not include any restrictions on nuclear weapons. The domestic laws of Finland expressly prohibit stockpiling or transporting nuclear weapons within its territory. Finnish Defense Minister Antti Kaikkonen also said that the defense cooperation agreement with the US will ensure compliance with the national laws of Finland.

Nevertheless, there are ongoing concerns within the international community regarding the potential introduction of nuclear weapons in Finland. At present, the nuclear weapons deployed by the US in Europe are mainly concentrated in countries like Germany and the Netherlands, which will dramatically aggravate the nuclear confrontation between NATO and Russia once they are extended to the confines of Finland.

Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said the signing of the agreement marked "a great milestone" in bilateral relations between the two countries, and "strengthens the security of Nordic and Baltic regions."

But in fact, Finland was not initially a focal point of geopolitical game until its accession to NATO, at which point the situation in its border regions with Russia underwent a fundamental transformation.

As Russian President Vladimir Putin mentioned that "the disputes between Russia and Finland have long been solved and there were no problems there. But now there will be as the West had "dragged" Finland into NATO."

Finland has virtually turned part of its border lines into potential conflict areas by signing the defense cooperation agreement with the US. The US troops deployment in Finland is never meant to protect a country that originally did not require protection but is hidden with underlying strategic intent that may exact huge political and economic costs from Finland.

At present, the game between NATO and Russia around Finland and even the Nordic region is ensnared in a vicious cycle of escalating stakes. What the relevant regions need most now is not foreign intervention or more weapons deployment but to promote a rational stance to effectively de-escalate the situation.