Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania plan to "resist with full force" against a potential "invasion" by Russia into the Baltic states. The core of this plan is the establishment of the Baltic Defense Line, a joint project of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania aimed at strengthening the 600-mile-long border between NATO's eastern flank's most vulnerable area and Russia and Belarus. This plan was first announced in January 2024, including主要内容 such as 1,000 concrete bunkers (600 of which are in Estonia), trenches, anti-tank ditches, ammunition depots, and supply bunkers. Although construction has progressed rapidly, it is expected to take ten years to complete, with Baltic officials concerned that time is running out for them. On April 7th, the former Lithuanian foreign minister stated, "We need ten years to prepare for the Russian threat. Putin won't allow us to wait for these ten years. After the ceasefire in Ukraine, the Baltic states will face their most dangerous moment." As security issues become increasingly severe, these countries announced last month their intention to withdraw from the international treaty banning anti-personnel landmines. Poland and Finland have also joined them. Lithuania withdrew from the cluster bomb treaty in March. They all expressed a desire to freely choose the use of new weapon systems to counter threats on their eastern borders. The Lithuanian defense minister stated that this "strategic message" is "we are prepared to use every means at our disposal" to resist an invasion. Denmark's intelligence department recently reported that once the war in Ukraine stops or freezes, Russia may quickly rearm, reorganize, and go to war with NATO. It is estimated that within six months, Moscow will be able to "launch a local war in neighboring countries of Russia." In two years, it will be ready for "regional wars with multiple Baltic states simultaneously." In five years, it will be able to launch a "large-scale war" in Europe. The goal of the new defense line is to gain strategic depth and slow down the offensive of Russian troops. Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania will each spend $70 million on constructing defensive works, which will account for a significant portion of their defense budgets. Their defense budgets account for a proportion of GDP second only to Poland in Europe. Source: The Telegraph Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1828731699729408/ Disclaimer: This article represents the views of the author alone.