In its ninth expansion, NATO admitted Finland as its 31st member on April 4. Finland's participation in NATO - and possibly Sweden's - is the most notable and has the strongest impact on world politics and security in Europe because these two countries abandoned their traditional neutrality policy to join the military alliance.
NATO and Finland justify this expansion of the alliance by addressing the security challenges and threats from Moscow, citing Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine as the most recent evidence. Finland advocates hiding under the NATO security umbrella, arguing that its traditional policy of neutrality can no longer guarantee its security.
NATO also plans that after the addition of Finland, this military alliance will increase its position and strength to better ensure security for its members, to consolidate and strengthen its position, role and influence in politics, military and security in Europe as well as to deal with Russia more effectively.
For NATO, dealing with Russia here is to prevent Moscow from challenging and threatening the security of member countries. Another goal is to contain Russia in the game of influence and world political role between the West and Moscow and in the game of military and security in Europe between NATO and Russia. In the past, in every expansion of the alliance, NATO has always acted according to the motto "Increase quantity to increase quality".
The Finnish flag was raised at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium on April 4, marking the country's admission as NATO's 31st member. Photo: REUTERS
With more members, NATO has increased its strength in certain aspects. In the fourth enlargement in 1999, NATO admitted for the first time three members of the former Warsaw Pact (not counting the German Democratic Republic in the unified Germany): Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary; in the fifth enlargement in 2004, it admitted other members of the former Warsaw Pact in Central and Southern Europe as well as the three Baltic states, creating an arc surrounding Russia from the south up.
Now with Finland, NATO has almost completed both the approach to the Russian border and the encirclement of Russia in the north. Finland brings to NATO more than 1,300 km of common border with Russia, helping this military alliance nearly double the length of its previous common border. NATO has created not only a new political, military, defense and security situation but also a new strategic arrangement that is disadvantageous to Russia.
NATO’s expansion is also evidence of its increased support for Ukraine in its conflict with Russia. It also shows NATO’s determination to help Ukraine win and make it impossible for Russia to win the conflict.
The inevitable consequence of NATO's intention to "add quantity and quality" in this matter is that Russia will react strongly and respond fiercely because it cannot help but consider its security to be more seriously threatened. The relationship between Russia, NATO and Finland will become more tense and difficult, and reconciliation will become more difficult.
In addition, Russia will have to increase its determination to win the conflict in Ukraine. Security politics in Europe will become more complicated and more likely to develop beyond the control of the parties involved.
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