The Nordic nation, which guards half of NATO’s land border with its main adversary, is also preparing to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention, which bans anti-personnel landmines, Orpo told reporters in Helsinki on Tuesday. (Lisa Ferdinando/DoD)
(Bloomberg) -- Finland’s government plans to raise the country’s defense spending to 3% of economic output by 2029 to address the risks from a more aggressive Russia, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said.
The Nordic nation, which guards half of NATO’s land border with its main adversary, is also preparing to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention, which bans anti-personnel landmines, Orpo told reporters in Helsinki on Tuesday.
The spending move follows similar initiatives to ramp up military outlays by Finland’s neighbors, with Sweden - the newest member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization - last week unveiling plans to spend an extra $30 billion on its armed forces during the next decade.
“As a member of NATO, we take care of our responsibilities toward our allies,” Orpo said. “With these decisions, we strengthen the security of Finland and Finnish people for the future.”
Last month, the three Baltic nations and Poland took a step toward reintroducing anti-personnel land mines for better protections against the potential threat of Russian aggression, with defense ministers of the four countries recommending a withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention. They cited a “significant” increase in military threats against members of NATO bordering Russia and Belarus.
Still, Norway, which also shares a border with Russia in the far North, has no plans to withdraw from the treaty and “regrets the decision” by its neighbors, the country’s defense minister, Tore O. Sandvik, told Bloomberg in an interview last week.
Finland’s border with Russia exceeds 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) and now makes up more than half of NATO’s eastern flank. Its defense spending already exceeds the more than 2% level targeted by NATO.
The Nordic country has a history of wars with Moscow, and is among the biggest providers of military aid to Ukraine that’s in the fourth year of fighting off a full-scale invasion by President Vladimir Putin. Finland, a country of 5.5 million - roughly the size of Minnesota - has more artillery than France and Germany combined and can call on as many as 280,000 troops in time of war.
Finland’s Finance Minister Riikka Purra said the defense spending aim would require about a €3 billion ($3.2 billion) boost to the military budget, speaking at the same news conference.
Among the spending items will be a revamp of Finland’s land forces, and additional funding will also be allocated to measures that “build the capability of the defense system to sustain long-term combat,” the government said.
Finland said that the defense forces will not deploy mines in normal conditions, and that a withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention will take effect six months after an instrument of withdrawal has been delivered to the United Nations Secretary General.
