Finland Calls NATO Warships for Joint Exercises... 'Baltic Sea Tensions Rise'

Last July, a NATO 2nd Maritime Battle Group warship docked at Odesa Port, Ukraine. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] Finland, which is discussing joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), will conduct joint exercises with NATO forces for two days starting on the 28th (local time).

On the 25th (local time), the Finnish Ministry of Defense announced in a statement that two of its naval vessels and three NATO-affiliated ships will conduct operations under the command of NATO's rapid response force.

The Finnish Ministry of Defense added that for this exercise, three NATO-affiliated ships?the Latvian mine-laying ship Virsaitis, the Estonian mine-hunting ship ENS Sakala, and the Dutch mine-hunting ship HNLMS Schiedam?have docked at the southwestern port city of Turku.

The Ministry of Defense further explained that the exercise will focus on mine countermeasure capabilities.

Although Finland is a member of the European Union (EU), it has maintained military neutrality. However, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and rising security concerns, internal discussions on NATO membership are underway.

According to local Finnish media, Finland is currently pursuing simultaneous NATO membership applications together with Sweden.

Meanwhile, Russia, closely monitoring NATO's eastward expansion, has issued threat messages stating that if these countries become NATO allies, it will deploy nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles in the Baltic Sea.