By Sun Qi
The Swedish parliament recently approved a defense cooperation agreement signed with the US last December, allowing the US military to deploy servicemembers and supplies and carry out exercises at all the 17 military bases, military airports and ground force stations across the country. Sweden approved the agreement to strengthen its military cooperation with the US and obtain some sort of "security guarantees" amid the protracted Russia-Ukraine conflict, but this decision will only make it more insecure.
"The agreement makes it clear that US military personnel won't be bound by Swedish laws, which means the US can carry out military activities in the country without hindrance," said Cui Hongjian, director of the Center of the European Union and Regional Development Studies, Beijing Foreign Studies University. Since the breakout of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Sweden, becoming increasingly concerned about the so-called security threats from Russia, has consistently enhanced its military cooperation with the US, including opening all its domestic military bases to the US. It also seeks a military framework integration with the US-led NATO to merge into its combat system more quickly.
In addition to Sweden, the US signed defense agreements with Finland and Denmark. The three countries have collectively opened up to 35 military bases to the US military. This, coupled with similar agreements signed with Norway and Iceland before, has further reinforced the US' military presence in Northern Europe and facilitated its future maneuvers in the North Pole region.
"Compared with other Nordic countries, Sweden has adopted more radical military policies," said Cui, who attributed that to Sweden's unique geostrategic position and the prospect of military integration with NATO. Geographically, Sweden doesn't share a long borderline with Russia like Finland does, so it has less qualms about elevating its military ties with the US. Meanwhile, its Gotland is of great military and strategic significance for controlling the Baltic Sea route, including the route to the Gulf of Finland and Russia's second largest city, St. Petersburg. Moreover, Sweden's military industry is highly localized, giving it more confidence to enhance its military strengths. All these factors have combined to drive its recent policy shift.
"From the US' perspective, it has signed a series of bilateral defense deals with the Nordic countries recently, aiming to take advantage of the Ukraine crisis to build and reinforce NATO's north wing." According to Cui, for some time now, NATO has made special efforts to apply geopolitical containment and suppression against Russia along the line from the three Baltic states to Central and Eastern European countries. After the Ukraine crisis broke out, especially with the admission of Finland and Sweden to NATO, the north wing has become a key direction of the US and NATO's deterrence against Russia. If any Nordic state requests, the US' nuclear umbrella may well extend to Northern Europe or even the North Pole. Besides, how the Russia-Ukraine conflict will go also bears heavily on the formation and expansion of the north wing.
In response to NATO's northern expansion, Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed an order approving the re-establishment of the Moscow and Leningrad military districts to enhance the military deployments in the northwest of the country. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said they will deploy weapons and equipment in the two military districts to cope with security threats arising from Sweden and Finland's entry into NATO.
Cui analyzed that Russia may make some targeted moves in areas where it shares borders with those countries located in the north wing of NATO and the Baltic region, including deploying tactical nuclear weapons and the "Iskander" missile, organizing military drills, and testing advanced weapons such as the hypersonic missile. The increasingly longer frontline and more intense confrontation between NATO and Russia will exert lasting negative impacts on Europe's security situation.
