The government’s agenda for Wednesday includes a proposal from the Finnish Ministry of Defence to grant a transit permit to “the Republic of Korea’s Defence Acquisition Program Administration.” The agenda was published on Tuesday, but no additional information was given.

The Defence Acquisition Program Administration is a department under South Korea’s Ministry of National Defence.

The Thor Liberty vessel, en route to South Korea from Germany, was for a time impounded at the Kotka Harbour due to irregularities in the packing of its cargo of explosives. It later came to light that the ship was also carrying missiles. A transit permit is required to transport missiles through Finland. The authorities said that, though the ship had no permit at the time, it could be attained later.

The German Defence Ministry confirmed to YLE before Christmas that Germany had sold the impounded missiles to South Korea.

The Finnish Customs impounded the missiles and reloaded the cargo of explosives over the Christmas holiday. The vessel’s captain and first mate have been questioned on suspicion of illegal export of military equipment, and banned from travelling.

At the end of December, police said that investigations into the legal status of the explosives were still ongoing.

Long standing arms sales deals between Germany and South Korea got a new twist just before Christmas when the ship carrying the most recent shipment of missiles was held up by Finnish officials when it called at the port of Kotka.

The missile shipment itself was legal, but lacked the transit papers needed to be moved in and out of Finnish territory. The vessel, the Thor Liberty, is still in Kotka and the missiles it was carrying are being stored elsewhere.

South Korean Ambassador Dongsun Park told YLE on Wednesday that his country would like to take delivery of the missiles without further delay.

"The delay has caused some little inconvenience. Of course, we Koreans would like to have them as early as possible for the safety of the country and for peace of the country," said Park.

Communication problems
Ambassador Park speculated that the reasons for the seizure of the missiles by Finnish authorities are to be found in garbled communications.

"It's a European operation up to now. The point of origin is in Europe. It's a European shipping company and the port the materials are in is in Finland. So I think you don't speak the same language, even among Europeans."

The vessel is also carrying a large consignment of explosives. Finnish authorities are investigating whether or not they are military materials. If they are, they as well require the proper transit documents.

According to available information, the explosives were being shipped to a different address in Asia than the missiles. Ambassador Park stressed that South Korea has nothing to do with the explosives aboard the Thor Liberty.

Solely defensive
The news of the Patriot missiles being seized in Finland hit world headlines only a few days after the announcement of the death of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il. However, Ambassador Park denied any connection.

"This is, after all, for peace and stability and even for prosperity in the sense that this is a trade between the EU and Korea. These are purely defensive materials, not any offensive materials. So, good for peace, good for stability, good for our prosperity."

Finnish officials believe it may still be weeks before the Patriot missiles are on their way toward South Korea again. The country's ambassador to Helsinki would like the matter squared away as quickly as possible.

"Koreans are impatient people and very efficient people, but I think Finnish people are more efficient than many Koreans, so we hope for an early delivery".

The Patriot missiles, purchased from Germany, were on their way to Asia via the Finnish port of Kotka. Finnish Customs and the National Bureau of Investigation are trying to determine who ordered the weapons, who sold them and exactly where they were headed.

Their journey was interrupted when a spot check of the cargo aboard the M/S Thor Liberty showed that the shipment lacked a permit from the Ministry of Defence that is required for the export or transit of military materiel.

Customs and police turned their attention to the vessel after being informed by the Finnish Transport Safety Agency (TraFi) that it had received advance information that it was possibly carrying explosives.

Arms shipments transit Finnish territorial waters regularly, but few ships with such cargoes sail without the proper documentation.

"Exceptional incident"

"This incident is exceptional because of the amount of the materials and the type. Personally I cannot remember a case of this magnitude in recent years," head of Finnish customs anti-crime unit Petri Lounatmaa told YLE.

The transport of explosives back and forth across the Gulf of Finland has raised safety concerns. Emergency Services in Kotka set up a one-kilometre restricted zone around the vessel while its cargo was being handled by officials. Even so, the ship had already carried 150 tonnes of improperly secured explosives across the Gulf of Finland without informing anyone.

"When this huge amount of explosives are being transported and safety measures are not observed, it does indeed arouse suspicious and concerns," says Lounatmaa.

In a 12-4 vote last Thursday, the cabinet gave the Finnish defence contractor Patria permission to export mortar systems worth about 100 million euros to Saudi Arabia.

Speaking in a YLE TV interview on Monday evening, Hautala said that the position taken by the Foreign Ministry in opposition to the deal was well-founded and raised concerns about the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia. She said that she considers it very probable that the Saudi government will turn the weapons against its own people.

"Human rights for sale"

"Now, of course, it can be asked if everything is for sale, are human rights really for sale, and it seems to me that in this case the view of the majority of the cabinet was that human rights are for sale," said Hautala.

She added that she personally could not take part in the decision because of a potential conflict of interest as the minister responsible for ownership steering issues. Patria is a majority-state-owned company.

Despite her criticism, Hautala did point out that the vote in the cabinet was carried out properly. She noted that arms deals come up for approval by the government at a late stage. She believes it would be better for both companies involved and for the decision-making process if a two-stage approval process were to be introduced, so that companies could get a preliminary decision earlier.

Hautala was also of the view that the Foreign Ministry should now move to see that joint EU arms export criteria are made clear. She said that this would improve operational opportunities for companies and ensure equal competition among companies from all the EU countries.

The defence forces will submit a comprehensive proposal for the reform to political decision makers at the beginning of 2012. During the press conference, General Puheloinen stressed that the defence forces are strong and committed to their social responsibility: "Society is changing, and so are we. We are assuming our responsibility in the government's overall efforts to achieve savings."

The fundamentals of defence still apply. The reform is based on the following principles: current tasks will continue, the effectiveness of conscription shall be ensured, and defence will be developed from the principle of regional defence. Reciprocity between the FDF and society as well as the ability to make good use of international cooperation must be reinforced further.

According to Puheloinen, defence spending should be restored to a state of equilibrium, as this guarantees the long-term maintenance and development of Finland's defence capabilities. One of the reform's primary aims is to ensure the functional capability of defence systems, which in turn makes the reform of regional troops absolutely necessary.

The commander presented a long list of practical measures with which cost savings will be achieved. These were: reducing the number of command and administrative levels and reorganising back office functions; relinquishing less important areas and properties; getting rid of overlaps, and increasing effectiveness in, for e.g., the military equipment and logistics functions.

Conscription shall remain but its implementation needs further development. The length of compulsory military service can be reduced by two weeks through practical arrangements. The FDF will not, however, be proposing that military service be cut down to four months because it is impossible to train capable troops in such a short period of time. Training functioning and comprehensive troops in one go during military service is still the most cost-effective way of building up the skills of the reserve.

The defence forces will propose that the FDF's new organisation become effective at the beginning of 2015. This will ensure the effectiveness of reforms despite fiscal challenges.

The commander of the Finnish Defence Forces' emphasised that the reforms will require decisions from the political leadership, a willingness to commit and change from the FDF personnel and the support of citizens.

Among the equipment that will be out-of-date by 2015 are hundreds of Pasi-armoured vehicles, tens of thousands of assault rifles and thousands of communications systems.

At the same time, as part of Finland's belt-tightening measures, the new government program calls for hundreds of millions of euro savings from the army.

Echoing the despair felt at the top rungs of the army, Brigadier General Veli-Pekka Parkatti from Army Command Finland, warns that the country will lose its capacity to defend its territory by the end of the decade, if the aging equipment is not replaced.

However, academic defence experts do not see the situation as quite so urgent.

Emeritus researcher Unto Vesa from University of Tampere Peace Research Institute feels that new acquisitions can be delayed by a few years. In Vesa's opinion, Finland would be able to respond appropriately quickly, if the security situation were to change dramatically.

With more reductions in the number of garrisons on the cards, as well as decreasing personnel numbers, aging equipment is not the only challenge that the Finnish army now faces.

The head of the Karelian Air Command, Ari Jussila, says that he is aware of the purchase, but is unwilling to take any position on the matter, since the Air Command's duties on the ground extend only as far as its perimeter fence. The Defense Forces has a unit charged with overseeing issues of this kind.

The matter of these real estate deals was raised by Arto Luukkanen, a researcher of Russian affairs at the University of Helsinki. It is noted in his recently published book Suomi Venäjän taskussa (Finland in Russia's Pocket).

Security police keeping tabs
There has been no publicly released information linking the land purchases to espionage activities. Finland's Security Police, Supo, says that it is one of many social phenomena that it has kept tabs on and continues to do so.

The Air Force has not been very specific in comments about what can or could be observed from positions close to its bases, but it is known that flights by fighter jets and radio traffic can be monitored at a distance, even from outside the country.

Arto Luukkanen himself does not consider that Finland is being targeted by especially hostile intelligence gathering, but points out that, if espionage is taking place, it is good to be aware of it.

Another perspective on the issue is that if someone wanted to carry out surveillance of bases, it could be done in a much more subtle manner. And, contrasted to Russia, Finland is a country where land has lasting value and where a building permit actually means that an owner can build something on his land.

He says permanent savings must be achieved by a reorganisation that must come into effect by the end of 2015.

General Puheloinen was speaking at the opening of a defence seminar on Monday. He added that merely chipping away at the current organisation or transferring operations from one location to another was not enough. However, he did not give any further details of organisational changes noting initiatives were still in the planning stage.

The Commander emphasized that reorganisation would cover land, naval and air forces as well as leadership of the armed forces. Puheloinen the military’s task would not change but, for example, the command chain would be shortened and the independence of regional units would be relinquished.

”The aim is to create by the end of this decade armed forces that can meet the challenges of the next decade,” Puheloinen said. He added possible NATO membership could not be used as an argument to solve financial challenges facing the defence forces.

In his address, Defence Minister Jyri Häkämies concentrated on defence co-operation with the EU and NATO. In his view, their compatibility was even more significant as a result of the current economic situation. He added no one could waste resources by duplicating operations and resources.

Discussions on the future of Finland's defence forces will receive additional food for thought next week when a report is published on the pros and cons of general conscription.

The US-built planes are at about the halfway point of their effective lifespans. The upgrade is set to extend their usefulness so that new fighters would not be needed before 2025. Nevertheless, the Finnish Air Forces is looking at other possible jet fighters on the market.

The most recent achievement of advanced military aviation is the American F-35 fighter, which Norway’s air force is planning to acquire.

Finland is also looking at the F-35, although the super-modern jet is also super expensive.

Precision Weapons for Hornet

The Air Force says that it is now concentrating on the upgrading of the Hornet.

The planes, which are primarily attended to give the Finns the capability to repulse an attack, are being modified to function as assault planes, capable of hitting land targets from a long distance.

Army Also Upgrading Equipment

The Finnish Army is also planning to upgrade much of its materiel. East German equipment, [as well as] Leopard tanks which were acquired in the 1990s, is becoming obsolete.

A key requirement in new acquisitions is compatibility with NATO systems, even though Finland has no immediate plans to join the alliance.

ET, the Defence Forces and the government have been arguing over the issue most of the autumn. Research done in western Europe and the United States points to windmills interfering with the reliability of radar, a view echoed by the Technical Research Center of Finland.

In recent years windmills have grown taller and the size of wind power parks has increased.

"We want reliable and sensible research done across Finland on the effects of radar and wind power parks for training and schooling purposes," says Lieutenant-Colonel Arto Ikonen, from the General Staff of the Defence Forces.

"By no means are we opposed to wind power, but the effects have to be studied quickly."

Government won't pay for study

Finland's Energy Industries ET and power companies have agreed to pay for half of the hundreds of thousands of euros needed for the study, but says neither the military nor the government is willing to co-operate.

"We've asked the Defence Forces, and they won't help pay for it," says ET's Director of Power Generation, Jukka Leskelä. "Neither will the Defence Ministry, nor the Ministry of Employment and the Economy."

ET feels that the Defence Forces' views have essentially stagnated windmill construction in Finland. In Kotka, for example, local power company Kotkan Voima has suspended plans to build a wind power park because of military objections.

"On the one hand, the government supports building wind power, but then a government agency, the Defence Forces, blocks their construction, and the government has no money to study the issue," fumes Leskelä.