Finland rushes to finalise US defence pact (before a possible President Trump)

[pampango]

Finland’s defence minister has said it aimed to conclude a defence pact with America before US president Barack Obama leaves office, amid concern over Russian aggression.

The minister, Jussi Niinisto, told the Reuters news agency on Monday (22 August): “We want to get the agreement ready during the autumn. However, I am convinced that our cooperation with the USA will continue regardless of which candidate is elected president”.

The Republican candidate, Donald Trump, has taken a pro-Russia line in his campaign and has cast doubt on the future of Nato.

The Finnish foreign minister, Timo Soini, also on Monday, told a meeting of Finnish ambassadors in Helsinki that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had changed the security situation in Europe. "We cannot, we do not want to turn our back on Russia. At the same time one has to be honest: With its action in Crimea, Russia has broken European rules," he said, referring to Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.

https://euobserver.com/nordic/134716

Finland may say that Finland-US cooperation will continue "regardless of which candidate is elected president” but their actions show that they really don't believe that.

[Lee-Lee]

1. How about they spend on their own defense instead of hoping we will do it?

The US spends around 3.5% of GDP while Finland spends about 1.3%.

Maybe they need to cover their own defense to at least an equal percentage of GDP if they expect our muscle backing them up.

[pampango]

2. They are not proposing a mutual defense treaty nor are they joining NATO.

He said that the pact would not include a Nato-type mutual defence promise.

“It would cover areas where we already work together, like military training, information sharing and research," he said.

I do not support Finland or anyone else spending more on defense. Collective security - in which ideally many countries spend small percentages on defense then defend each other - is preferable to each country spending much more so that it can defend itself.

We need to spend much less on defense rather than urging others to spend much more. Trump is arguing for more US defense spending and seems to oppose the concept of collective security - unless it is a 'fantastic deal' financially for us.