sweden strives to change the status quo of the "bonsai army"
2024-10-05
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reference news network reported on october 3according to a report on the german "frankfurter allgemeine zeitung" website on september 30, sweden is aggressively expanding its military. the process will be led by mikael krasson, who officially became supreme commander of the swedish armed forces on october 1.
krasson is not a low-key person. krasson has said many times that in his opinion, "russia's imperialist foreign policy" is the biggest threat facing sweden.
sweden has fundamentally changed its security policy because of russia. sweden abandoned centuries of non-alignment, joined nato, and signed a defense agreement with the united states that allows the u.s. military to use its military bases and even deploy nuclear weapons there.
before the russo-ukrainian war, this was unimaginable for sweden, which prides itself on being a humanitarian world power. but earlier, sweden had realized that its defense capabilities were weak. after the collapse of the iron curtain, sweden, like germany, significantly weakened its defense capabilities and abolished compulsory military service. sweden implemented disarmament and the remaining standing forces focused on international peacekeeping missions.
krasson compared the swedish military to a bonsai at a conference this year. he said: "we have established a bonsai defense." this means that sweden's defense power looks exquisite, but it is actually very fragile. in the mid-1960s, sweden was able to mobilize about 800,000 troops. today, sweden's active and reserve troops total only about 57,000 - despite the strong combat capabilities of the swedish air force and navy.
after crimea was annexed to russia, sweden restored the military service system and began to strengthen its military strength. krasson believes that his most important task at present is to "stay on this track and accelerate the speed of enriching military capabilities." sweden's defense spending has doubled from 2020, accounting for 2.2% of gdp this year. the corresponding proportions will increase to 2.4% and 2.6% in 2025 and 2028 respectively.
in addition to strengthening military capabilities, the key tasks set by the swedish government for the military include deep integration into nato. due to its geographical location, sweden, the nordic member of nato, plays a central role in the defense of finland and the baltic states. krasson advocated that sweden should join nato many years ago. in his view, sweden could become a hub for nato. sweden is now much safer, he said recently, thanks to the nato framework and its nuclear deterrent.
the swedish government said that the current security situation is the most serious since world war ii. (compiled by wang qing)
