Finland’s Foreign Minister, Elina Valtonen, has suggested that her nation has become uncertain of China because of the regime’s reluctance to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has continued since February 2022.
She said the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could play a role in resolving the war in Ukraine, given its influence over Russia and status as a member of the U.N. Security Council.
She said Finland now views China as “a question mark,” given its refusal to condemn the war.
The Chinese regime has refused to condemn Russia’s aggression toward Ukraine. China and Russia signed a “no-limit partnership” last year, and Beijing has emerged as Moscow’s most important trade partner amid crippling sanctions from the West.
The CCP released a “12-point” peace plan on the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion as part of the effort to portray itself as a neutral broker to mediate an end to the war, although Beijing didn’t condemn the war.
Finland Seeks Stronger Security Ties
During the interview with Nikkei, Ms. Valtonen said Finland is seeking wider cooperation with the European Union and NATO, as well as like-minded countries—such as Australia, South Korea, Japan, and Canada—in dealing with the geopolitical tensions arising from the U.S.–China competition.“All cooperation when it comes to security and defense is something which needs to be explored and further deepened with like-minded partners in the region,” the Finnish minister said.
“If we look at China, if we look at the developments in the Indo-Pacific, I think it’s very natural that not just NATO but also individual countries in Europe, such as Finland, start looking also in that direction.”
Finland became NATO’s newest member this year. The Nordic country has started construction of a wire fence at its Russian border, fearing retaliation from Moscow after joining the military alliance.
Finland aims to guard against a repeat of events on the EU’s eastern frontier in Poland in the winter of 2021, when the bloc accused neighboring Belarus—a staunch Russian ally—of engineering a crisis by flying in migrants from the Middle East, giving them visas, and pushing them across the border.
Last year, Finland detected 30 illegal crossings there, while Russian border guards stopped some 800 attempts to enter Finland, according to Finnish Border Guard Brig. Gen. Jari Tolppanen.
“The situation at the Finnish–Russian border has been stable and is stable at the moment,” Brig. Gen. Tolppanen said.
“But in this totally changed [security] situation, Finland must have more credible and more independent border control. And Finland needs to be less dependent on the Russian border control.”
