Finnish papers covered the breakage of another telecommunications cable in the Baltic Sea.
Tabloid Ilta-Sanomat wrote that a cable between Sweden and Latvia was damaged early on Sunday morning.
The Swedish Prosecution Authority said late on Sunday night that it had seized the vessel, which Swedish paper Expressen reported was the Maltese-flagged bulk carrier Vezhen.
Iltalehti quotes Swedish Security Service (Säpo) officials as saying that the ship left the Russian port of Ust-Luga on Friday, 24 January.
The case is being investigated as aggravated sabotage. The Swedish Security Service is leading the investigation.
Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa summoned ministers on Sunday over the incident. She was also in contact with the prime ministers of Sweden, Estonia and Lithuania.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said that Sweden, Latvia and Nato were working closely together on the incident.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb said on X that Finland is supporting Sweden and Latvia in the cable damage investigation.
Stubb also said that he discussed the cable damage at a dinner hosted by Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Sunday with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Swedish PM Kristersson.
Stubb said that he, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP), Finnish authorities and allies are keeping a close eye on recent events in the Baltic Sea.
Saturday marked one month since the last major cable incident in the Baltic Sea, when the telecommunications cable Estlink 2 broke between Finland and Estonia on Christmas Day.
After the incident, Finland seized the Cook Islands-flagged vessel Eagle S and has been conducting an ongoing investigation into the cable damage. The ship is suspected to be part of Russia's shadow fleet and its anchor is believed to be behind the damage to the Estlink 2 cable.
Trump's 5% defence spending target
US President Donald Trump called on Nato to increase its defence spending target for member states from two percent of GDP to five percent in a remote speech to the World Economic Forum (WEF) last week.
Newspaper Helsingin Sanomat asked MPs serving on Parliament's Defence committee their thoughts on Finland increasing its defence budget.
According to the committee's chair, Jukka Kopra (NCP), five percent is "very high".
"It is a significant and probably nearly impossible financial effort for some European Nato countries," said Kopra.
Kopra pointed out that Finland spent around 2.4 percent of its GDP on its defence last year while the US defence budget fell under 3.4 percent. Out of Nato's 32 member states, 23 of them meet the current two-percent threshold.
Kopra argued that it would be in Finland's best interest to push for a target of three percent and that Trump's call for five percent is likely a negotiating tactic, as the US would likely settle on a lower defence spending target.
Even a rise to three percent represents an increase in Finland's defence spending by 1.9 billion euros a year. At the same time, Finland's government is aiming to cut nine billion euros in order to balance the budget.
Deputy chair of the committee and former Defence Minister Mikko Savola (Cen) told HS that five percent is a largely unrealistic target, describing Trump's speeches as a wake-up call for Europe to take more responsibility for its own defence.
"This is not a new thing, he raised the same issue in his previous term, but now the numbers have certainly gone up from then," Savola said.
Meanwhile, Mika Kari (SDP), an opposition MP on the committee, echoed these sentiments and pointed out that an increase in defence spending would bode well for the weapons manufacturing industry in the US.
"Of course, Trump must be counting on the fact that the five percent level would mean a pretty hefty order book for the US for defence equipment," he noted.
Fate of Finnish resources
Rural-focused newspaper Maaseudun Tulevaisuus carried an editorial warning that Finland needs to avoid the fate of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
As the global scramble intensifies for critical minerals, such as cobalt, platinum, palladium, nickel and phosphate rock, Finland sits in a unique position.
Thanks to its mineral-rich soil, foreign interest in conducting mineral explorations in Finland has surged.
According to the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK), Finland is the EU's sole producer of several critical and strategic metals and industrial minerals.
Hannu Lahtinen, Director of the GTK, noted that Finland is the EU's only cobalt producer and the world's second-largest cobalt refiner after China.
According to Professor Sami Moisio, the key question for Finland is whether the United States will also try to combine the availability of critical raw materials with various deals through Nato, similar to Trump's rhetoric towards Greenland.
Finland's mining legislation has faced criticism for allowing local communities to bear the brunt of environmental and social impacts while profits flow abroad. In a similar vein, Chinese companies control a majority of the mining sector in DR Congo, forcing much of the profits out of the country and abroad.
Moisio warned that Finland must be vigilant to avoid becoming merely a raw material reservoir.
Instead, MST argued that Finnish state, northern regions and local companies should reap the benefits of these ventures.
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