Dong Yifan

A flag with the logo of the NATO is seen at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, February 15, 2024. /CFP

Editor's note: Dong Yifan, a special commentator on current affairs for CGTN, is a research fellow with the Institute of European Studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

After nearly two years of waiting and negotiation, Sweden recently achieved its strategic goal of joining NATO. This is also the second expansion process of NATO in the Nordic region since the Russia-Ukraine conflict began, further intensifying the geopolitical tensions between Russia and the West. The confrontational nature of the strategic landscape will also make European security more distant from the correct development goals of mutual respect and sustainability.

From a geopolitical perspective, Sweden's entry into NATO will intensify the confrontation between Russia and the West in the Baltic Sea region. For a continental country like Russia, the Baltic Sea is the gateway to the global market for its western region and is extremely important for its economic and military significance.

Finland and Sweden's accession to NATO means that there are no longer neutral countries in the Baltic Sea region, and Russia's maritime entrance will be enveloped by NATO countries.

Given that the Baltic countries have long held a defensive and vigilant attitude towards Russia, NATO will undoubtedly exert greater military pressure to form a strategic deterrent against Russia. This move, in turn, will enhance Russia's insecurity and force it to adopt tougher military deployments and actions in response.

These reactions have undoubtedly accelerated the vicious cycle of intensifying military tension, and also made it significantly more difficult for all parties to make rational decisions and manage crises.

Judging from Sweden's own military characteristics and military industrial strength, its membership in NATO will further increase the strategic security imbalance in Europe. Historically, Sweden was once a major military power competing for European hegemony, and its policy of military neutrality in modern times largely depended on its establishment of a small but capable army.

Meanwhile, Sweden has a very strong defense industry system and has independently developed world-leading fighter jets, tanks, artillery and other weapons. As Sweden joins NATO, its military and industrial systems will complement and enhance those of other NATO countries. NATO, therefore, will form a stronger military presence in the Baltic Sea and the Arctic, which will pose a greater security threat to Russia.

Swedish soldiers look on as the NATO flag (R) is hoisted next to the Swedish flag in front of the headquarters of Sweden's Armed Forces in Stockholm, Sweden, March 11, 2024. /CFP

As NATO increases its membership and expands its military strength on paper, the trend of increasing military adventures and strategic speculation regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict may be get out of control, which will also put European security in a more precarious situation.

As French President Emmanuel Macron recently stated that he refused to rule out sending ground troops to Ukraine, the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs Radoslaw Sikorski also stated that NATO troops may enter Ukraine. These statements reflect the increasingly strong impulse for military intervention in the entire West and the use of NATO's collective defense mechanism to further enhance its posture of strategic deterrence against Russia.

As NATO increasingly adopts "playing with fire" actions based on enhanced offensive capabilities, the risk of military conflict with Russia will increase. In order to safeguard selfish political and hegemonic interests of the United States, NATO does not hesitate to hold the security of the entire Europe and even the world hostage.

But unfortunately, NATO and its member states are unable to extricate themselves from the "security trap." In fact, whether Finland and Sweden gave up their neutral status to join NATO, or whether many countries chose to continue to provide military assistance to Ukraine to achieve the strategic goal of "defeating Russia," they are actually pursuing the so-called "absolute security." Reinforcing one's own security on the basis of matching security threats from other countries will ultimately lead to an unbalanced security architecture prone to collapse.

From the perspective of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the distorted security concepts of NATO countries and the process of continuous eastward expansion are exactly the reasons that the West and Russia gradually lost strategic trust and eventually led to fierce confrontation. However, the process of Sweden joining NATO is the latest example of repeating the wrongdoing.

Moreover, NATO's continued expansion and its member states' increasing military expenditures will also pose a great security threat to countries besides Russia. These actions indicate that NATO is a military machine for the purpose of war.

In fact, in recent years, with the continuous promotion of the United States, NATO is no longer content with competing for security hegemony in Europe; NATO has also tried to extend its influence to the Asia-Pacific region by seeking to build a global military alliance led by the U.S. Countries around the world should remain vigilant about NATO's expansion and jointly protect the peace most cherished by mankind.