On February 26, the Hungarian National Assembly officially approved the Sweden's joining the North Atlantic Convention (NATO) with 188 votes in favor and six votes.country.

Why did Sweden decide to enter the contract?

After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, NATO tried to win Finland and Sweden many times, but they were all rejected.Finland and Sweden have long pursued the military -free policy.Although Sweden has sent troops to participate in international peacekeeping missions, it has never participated in the war since 1814, and the Swedes have also generally opposed military alliances.

It was not until February 24, 2022 that Russia invaded Ukraine without military provocation, and Sweden's diplomatic and military positions, and public opinion reversed.Sweden and Russia have no common land border, but are connected by the Baltic Sea.After Finland joined NATO, Sweden became the only country in the four Nordic countries, and the risk of security increased significantly.

Sweden quickly abandoned the policy of not alliance, and in May of the same year, I jointly submitted an application for admission to NATO with Finland.

What can Sweden bring to NATO?

After Sweden joined NATO, the security pattern of continental Europe appeared in a historic reorganization.The entire Baltic Sea will be surrounded by NATO member states to form a "NATO Lake" in Nordic geography.If Moscow and any country on the shore of the "Nighty Lake" broke out, NATO can completely block Russia's activity space on this critical channel.

From the perspective of the defense strength of Sweden, the Swedish government can dispatch about 50,000 soldiers, half of which are reserve soldiers.The Swedish Air Force also has more than 90 domestic JAS 39 "Eagle Lions" fighter, while the Navy forces have several frigates and military submarines, which can help improve NATO's combat capabilities.

In order to show the determination, the Swedish government has promised in January this year to send ground combat forces to Latvia next to the Russian border and join the NATO garrison.

How does the contract affect the defense of Sweden?

After the Sweden enters the appointment, it must abandon the long -term "alone defense" thinking and learn to carry out military cooperation with the allies.

Jan Henningson, a researcher at the Swedish National Defense Research Bureau (FOI), told AFP: "For a long time, Sweden has always carried out national defense work with the premise of" we will complete the task alone '.Sweden must learn teamwork and must adapt to such a fact. In addition to defending the country's territory, it must also defend the territory of the allies.

Joining NATO actually subverts the traditional view of Sweden to maintain neutrality in potential conflicts.Heng Ningsen said that with the promise of 31 other member states to resist foreign enemies, Sweden is no longer a small country, and in terms of economic and population, "NATO is much larger than Russia."

The Swedish Army Chief of the Army was interviewed by the media last December that after NATO's strength is more strong, the risk of conflict will also decrease.