Finland should consider banning military reservists from leaving the reserve, according to the Finnish Defence Forces (FDF).
Yle asked the FDF to present its position on the topic, after Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen talked about banning such resignations in an interview last week.
He told the Vaasa-based weekly paper Kyrönmaa that plans were being made to introduce legislation to prohibit reservists from resigning, adding that he considers such resignations unpatriotic.
In an email reply, the FDF told Yle that the country's security situation has prompted a need to review various laws on the books, and that rules about reservist resignations were one of the issues to be examined.
The FDF said that in the worst case, reservist resignations could endanger Finland's defence capabilities.
The military agency noted that Finland's national defence is based on the conscription system and that any potential changes made to it must be carefully considered.
It said that while reservists have the right to change their status with the military, the law should be reviewed so that the country's abilities to defend itself is not compromised.
Hundreds resign
Since Minister Häkkänen's comments about planning to ban resignations were published last week, hundreds of reservists resigned.
According to the Civilian Service Centre, around 675 resignation applications have been filed so far in February, with 293 of them filed last Friday.
According to the FDF, there are around 870,000 military reservists in Finland. In a wartime scenario there would be around 278,000 troops available for duty, and the ability to call on reservists.
The FDF said it would continue monitoring the number of reservist resignations, adding that the current level of resignations was not alarming.
It also noted that reservists who resign need to prove that their convictions have changed enough so that it prevents them from taking part in military activities — but they would still need to fulfil civilian service duties during exceptional circumstances.
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