17 May 2022 Finland and Sweden willing to join NATO
Finland and Sweden willing to join NATO – Today Current Affairs
- Recently Finland and Sweden have shown interest to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Why are Sweden and Finland not members of NATO?
Today Current Affairs
Finland:
- It has stayed away from such alliances as it always wanted to maintain cordial relations with its neighbor Russia.
- The idea of not joining NATO or coming too close to the West for a long time was a matter of existence for Finland.
- However the change in perception and overwhelming support for joining NATO came after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Sweden : The Hindu Analysis
- Sweden has been opposed to joining the organization for ideological reasons, unlike Finland whose policy form was a matter of survival.
- By being a member of NATO, these nations will get security guarantee under “Article 5”.
Meaning and Benefits of Membership to NATO:
Safety Guarantee : The Hindu Analysis
- NATO works on the principle of collective defense, which means ‘an attack on one or more members is considered an attack on all member countries. It should be noted that this is enshrined in Article 5 of NATO.
- By being a member of NATO, these nations will get security guarantee under “Article 5”.
Strengthening Coalition : The Hindu Analysis
- The geographical position of Finland is in its favour. Once it becomes a member of NATO, the length of the shared borders of NATO and Russia will be doubled and it will also strengthen the position of NATO alliance in the Baltic Sea.
Opposing Russia’s aggression : The Hindu Analysis
- The favoring of the West by more sovereign powers and increasing its power may prove to be counterproductive for Russia.
- If Sweden and Finland join NATO, especially in these circumstances, “this step will give Russia the feeling that war can create an adverse situation for it and this step will further strengthen Western unity, resolve and military preparedness.”
Response of Russia and other countries:
Russia : The Hindu Analysis
- Russia threatened the use of military power if Sweden and Finland announced their acceptance of NATO membership and warned of dire consequences.
European countries and Americas : The Hindu Analysis
- The European nations and the United States have welcomed Finland’s move.
- Norway and Denmark have said that they may soon join NATO.
- The US said that it is ready to provide any necessary defense assistance or address any concerns until membership is formally accepted.
Turkey : The Hindu Analysis
- Turkey opposes Finland and Sweden joining NATO.
- The Turkish government claimed that it could use its membership in the Western Alliance to veto the acceptance of membership by both countries.
- The Turkish government has criticized the move by Kurdish terrorists and other groups that have been declared as terrorist groups, accusing Sweden and other Scandinavian countries of providing support to these groups.
Today Current Affairs
What is NATO?
- It is a military alliance established by the North Atlantic Treaty of April 1949 (also known as the Washington Treaty) by the United States, Canada and several Western European countries to provide collective security against the Soviet Union.
- It currently includes 30 member countries.
- Its original members were Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States.
- The original signatories included Greece and Turkey (1952), West Germany (as Germany since 1955, 1990), Spain (1982), Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland (1999), Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia (2004), Albania and Croatia (2009), Montenegro (2017) and North Macedonia (2020).
- France withdrew from the unified military command of NATO in 1966 but remained a member of the organization, re-entering the military command of NATO in 2009.
- Headquarters: Brussels, Belgium.
- Headquarters of Allied Command Operations: Mons, Belgium.
Objectives of NATO:
- The basic and enduring purpose of NATO is to guarantee the freedom and security of all its members by political and military means.
Political Objectives : The Hindu Analysis
- NATO promotes democratic values and enables member states to consult and cooperate on issues related to defense and security to solve problems, build mutual trust and prevent conflict in the long term.
Military Purpose : The Hindu Analysis
- NATO is committed to the peaceful settlement of disputes. It has military power to conduct crisis-management operations in the event that diplomatic efforts fail.
- These operations are carried out either alone or in collaboration with other countries and international organizations under the Collective Defense Clause of the Founding Treaty of NATO – Article 5 of the Washington Treaty or the mandate of the United Nations.
- NATO invoked Article 5 only once on September 12, 2001, after the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in the US.
Way ahead : The Hindu Analysis
- As Finland joins NATO, more Russian troops may have to be deployed along the Russia-Finland border.
- Finland and Russia 1,300 km. and Russia’s actions against NATO membership of Finland (and potentially Sweden as well) may depend on military deployments along the border with Finland and possibly Sweden.
- The people of Finland may not opt for immediate military planning and may want to use their NATO membership as a signal to Russia, but if they continue to feel threatened, they may opt for full military planning can choose.
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