Sweden's NATO membership expanded to 32 countries as all member states approve

The Hungarian parliament is expected to vote on Sweden's membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on the 26th.

This will mean that all member states will recognize it, expanding NATO, the world's largest military alliance, to 32 countries.

In response to Russia's military invasion, Sweden changed its long-standing policy of military neutrality and applied for membership in NATO in May of last year, along with Finland, which shares a border with Russia.

Membership requires the approval of all NATO member states, and although Finland's membership was achieved in April last year, Sweden's membership has been difficult as Turkey and Hungary have not approved it.

Of these, Turkey approved it last month, and Hungary's parliament will be held on the afternoon of the 26th local time, and on the evening of the 26th Japan time, to vote on approving Sweden's membership in NATO.

Prior to this, Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán met with Sweden's Prime Minister Cristsion in the capital Budapest on the 23rd of this month, saying, ``We were able to rebuild complete trust in each other,'' and membership was approved by parliament. He gave the outlook.

If approved, Sweden will join and NATO will expand to 32 countries.

For NATO, the addition of Sweden to Finland will further strengthen security by enclosing the Baltic Sea, which is strategically important in dealing with Russia, among NATO member states.

What is the background to joining Sweden?

Sweden has maintained a policy of military neutrality for more than 200 years, but decided to change course after Russia's military invasion of Ukraine.

In May of last year, about three months after the military invasion began, Finland applied to join NATO, along with Finland, which had also advocated a policy of military neutrality.

Membership in NATO requires the approval of all member states, and Finland became NATO's 31st member state in April last year, about a year after applying.

However, Turkey and Hungary did not recognize Sweden, which has been a major barrier to membership.

Among these, Turkey has expressed disapproval, claiming that Sweden is supporting members of Kurdish armed groups who advocate independence from Sweden.

Sweden held repeated talks with Turkey and presented concrete measures against Kurdish armed groups, which Turkey had requested, and Turkey approved its membership in parliament last month, citing progress.

On the other hand, the Hungarian government did not make clear its reasons for not approving the agreement, and some believe that Prime Minister Orbán was using it as a political bargaining chip.

However, with Turkey's approval and pressure from other NATO member states such as the United States, Congress now has to vote to approve it.

Expert: NATO seizes control of the Baltic Sea, a major blow to Russia

Regarding Sweden's accession to NATO, Neil Melvin, Director of RUSI (Royal Institute for Defense and Security Studies) said, ``The whole of Northern Europe will become a NATO territory, and NATO will gain control of the Baltic Sea.It will be a major strategic blow to Russia.'' ” he points out.

Regarding Sweden's air power, he said, ``We have more than 90 fighter jets that are far more powerful than Russia's state-of-the-art ones.This will greatly expand NATO's battle space.''He also talked about Sweden's naval power, `` "It has extremely quiet and difficult-to-detect diesel submarines designed to operate in the Baltic Sea, making it difficult for Russian submarines and surface ships to operate."

He added that Sweden's accession would particularly strengthen the security of the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, stating that ``Kaliningrad, a Russian enclave on the Baltic coast, is highly militarized and has been seen as a threat to the Baltic states.'' "However, if the Swedish island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea were to be operated like an aircraft carrier and NATO aircraft could take off and land there, it would be difficult for Russia to protect the enclave, and the situation would turn around."

Regarding Russia, ``With the growing presence of NATO in the northern part of the country where it has nuclear forces, it is under pressure to increase its military forces on its borders.However, most of its forces are currently "As we are using them to invade Ukraine, we will have to mobilize additional troops over several years at great expense and effort," he said, indicating that this was a major miscalculation for President Putin.

On the other hand, it was noted that Turkey and Hungary took a cautious stance regarding Sweden's membership, so it took nearly two years to apply, and as NATO expands to 32 countries, it will require more coordination in decision-making. I will list.

In addition, bearing in mind that former President Trump, who is seeking re-election in the United States, has shown a negative attitude toward involvement in NATO, he said, ``If countries begin to have doubts about the role that the United States plays, the alliance could lose its cohesive force.'' ” he points out.

Some schools provide opportunities for discussion in membership classes.

In Sweden, some schools provide opportunities for class discussions regarding NATO membership.

Sweden has introduced military conscription for men and women over the age of 18.

At a high school in the northern city of Luleå, NATO membership is an important issue for students who may become soldiers in the future, and classes are held to discuss the significance and pros and cons of NATO membership, mainly for students aged 17 to 18. going.

On the 7th of this month, when NHK visited for an interview, about 20 students gathered in the classroom and exchanged opinions with the teacher.

Many students were positive about joining NATO, saying things like, ``Ever since the invasion of Ukraine began, the threat from Russia has increased.I support joining NATO in order to protect our country.''

On the other hand, one of the male students who participated in the class said in an interview, ``I'm scared that I might die fighting to protect a member country, but joining NATO is also to prevent war from happening.'' I felt a variety of emotions. "It's a mixture of things," he said, and was asked about his mixed feelings.

The school hopes to continue providing opportunities for students to think in class.