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Finland joins hands with U.S. over Russian threats

Posted August. 26, 2016 07:15,   

Updated August. 26, 2016 07:21

한국어

Finland, which has maintained strict neutrality through the Cold War, is seeking a defense collaboration agreement with the United States and aims to sign it this fall. Finland also conducted a joint air force drill with the United States against an imaginary enemy for the first time in its territory. Finland, which joined the European Union but not the NATO, is going under the U.S. security umbrella because of growing concerns against Russia, which invaded Ukraine and annexed Crimea in 2014. Sweden, which also did not join the NATO in consideration of Russia, also signed a defense agreement with the U.S. in June.

Having a border with Russia more than 1,300 kilometers long, Finland was under Russia’s indirect rule for over a century in the past. It gained independence during the 1917 Russian Revolution but lost 12 percent of its territory to the Soviet Union after losing two wars during World War II. In 1948, the Nordic country signed the Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance with the Soviet Union in 1948 and won Moscow’s recognition of its political independence under the condition that Helsinki did not provide its territory for Moscow’s enemy. In the 1960s, the term “Finlandization” was coined in Germany, referring to the process by which a small country seeks to keep its independence by passively obeying a powerful neighboring country.

Finlandization is not an unfamiliar concept to Korea, which maintained similar relationship called “sadae” with China in the past. Experts have long expressed concerns that China is trying to “filandize” South Korea by using its economic influence while competing with the United States for regional hegemony. It is probably in the context that China is unreasonably coercing South Korea against the planned deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system. However, Finland’s history shows that catering to a neighboring power for geopolitical reasons does not guarantee a country’s existence. It would be an illusion to think that China is different from Russia, which has revealed its expansionist ambition.

In her National Liberation Day speech, President Park Geun-hye said, “We must depart from the victim mentality and pessimistic thinking that our destiny will be decided by the dynamics among major powers.” Previous administration made significant efforts to get closer to China. However, China has been unilaterally protecting North Korea despite Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile provocations. After the North successfully test-fired a submarine launched ballistic missile on Wednesday, its leader Kim Jong Un declared that his country “joined the front rank of the military powers fully equipped with nuclear attack capability.” It is clear that if a country cannot defense itself, with whom it should join hands to cope a security crisis. If there is anyone who still has illusions over China, he or she should look at Finland.



한기흥기자 eligius@donga.com