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"Achilles' heel" of defence: Are the Åland Islands a threat to NATO?

2023-05-18T12:27:57.922Z

Highlights: Finland's accession to NATO could make the Åland archipelago an important defence base. The problem is that the military infrastructure is lacking. The autonomous and militarily neutral special status is now raising doubts among the Finnish government. It is feared that the archipelagos could be an easy target for Russia. Finland and Sweden have been working out for decades what a hypothetical defense should look like. The Baltic Sea is thus the "Achilles' heel of defense" of NATO.



Militarily neutral and largely autonomous, Finland's accession to NATO could make the Åland archipelago an important defence base. The problem is that the military infrastructure is lacking.

Mariehamn – Fearing Russian aggression over the Ukraine war, attitudes towards the defensive alliance have changed. With Finland's accession to NATO, Åland Island is gaining in importance for NATO's defence. This is despite the fact that the archipelago has been demilitarized for almost 200 years. The autonomous and militarily neutral special status is now raising doubts among the Finnish government. The reason: Åland could become an important base for NATO.

Russian Consulate: Monitoring the demilitarization agreement

The island paradise with its 6700 islands and archipelago is located in the Baltic Sea between Finland and Sweden - 15 kilometers from the Finnish coast and 40 kilometers from the Swedish coast. Although Åland is culturally and linguistically closer to Sweden, it is officially part of Finland politically. Åland is largely autonomous: its own government and its own flag. Now, however, it is part of the NATO catchment area. This could make the archipelago interesting for Russia – Russia has not yet recognized the autonomous status of Åland.

Åland is an autonomous and demilitarized archipelago with its own government and flag – but on paper it belongs to Finland. © IMAGO/imageBROKER/Angela to Roxel

In the 19th century, Finland belonged to Russia for a short time. Since then, a Russian consulate has been represented in the capital Marienhamn. This is said to have served as an espionage post, especially during the Cold War. Officially, it is used to monitor the demilitarization treaty. "The consulate is part of the Russian espionage system in Finland," former presidential adviser Alpo Rusi said last year. A large-scale raid in 2018 showed that Russian citizens had bought many large plots of land on the archipelago and provided them with helipads and jetties. Harmless or not, this definitely makes the inhabitants suspicious. The consulate could be quickly closed by the Finnish government, but they do not want to provoke disproportionate reactions from Russia. The situation has already been tense since Finland joined NATO.

"Achilles' heel" of defense: Finland and Sweden drew up detailed defense plans

Åland lacks the military infrastructure to defend itself in the event of an escalation between Russia and NATO. It is feared that the archipelago could be an easy target for Russia. Charly Salonius-Pasternakder, senior researcher at the Finnish Institute of International Relations in Helsinki, believes the threat is less serious. "Of course, it's a big challenge when Nato can't do what normally belongs to defending its own territory. But does this make it impossible to defend the area? No, of course not," the researcher said in an interview with ntv. At the moment, however, a defense would be "more difficult and deadly than it needs to be."

The demilitarized archipelago could become an important NATO base for defense. © IMAGO/blickwinkel/M. Woike

According to the report, Finland and Sweden have been working out for decades what a hypothetical defense should look like. Legally, militarization by Finland cannot be ruled out. According to the defense expert, the Finnish border guard on the ground could also become active and be subordinated to the Ministry of Defense in the event of war. There is also a reservist group of about 2000,<> islanders who have done Finnish military service – voluntarily, as the inhabitants of Åland are exempt from conscription.

In order to prevent aggression by Russia, these measures should not be adopted prematurely. "A militarization of Aland would probably have consequences. We must not forget that neither the Soviet Union nor Russia ever agreed to the neutralization of the Åland Islands," says Salonius-Pasternak. It must also be borne in mind that Åland's security will increase significantly after Sweden joins NATO. According to Rusi, the archipelago in the Baltic Sea is thus the "Achilles' heel of Finnish defense" – and also of NATO. (hk)

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2023-05-18

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