On Christmas Day, a suspicion arose that the vessel Eagle S was behind a series of destroyed underwater cables between Finland and Estonia. The day after, Finnish military and police boarded the vessel.
For Swedish authorities, it took a month to board the Chinese-flagged vessel Yi Peng 3, which is also suspected of sabotage.
It testifies to two very different cultures when it comes to crisis management, says Tormod Heier, professor of military strategy and operations at the Defense University in Oslo.
The way of communicating also differs. Tormod Heier means that Finland is both clearer and faster.
It's part of the Finnish body language. It's respectful and contributes to keeping potential enemies at arm's length. Finland speaks the only language that Russia respects and understands. It's the language of power.
Did not point out
In contrast, Swedish authorities have a tendency to avoid confrontation, says Tormod Heier, and mentions that Swedish police initially did not point out Yi Peng 3 by name.
Sweden hides behind liberal legal principles where things must be thoroughly investigated. It's another form of crisis management where it goes much slower.
Sweden's Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard, who openly criticized China for not allowing the Swedish prosecutor to board Yi Peng 3, stated on Friday that Sweden and Finland had different prerequisites.
Without having all the details clear to us, we can establish that the Finnish authorities were in the vessel's immediate vicinity.
When it comes to Yi Peng 3, she means that the suspicion arose at a later stage.
When Sweden requested that the vessel should go to a Swedish port, it was not complied with.
Cultural differences
Tormod Heier shares the image of the countries having different prerequisites, but still means that the underlying cultural differences have significance. The explanation lies, according to him, in the countries' historical experience of war.
Sweden has not been at war since 1814. Over 200 years, it has developed a crisis management where it has wanted to avoid unnecessary provocations. I assume it will affect the Nordic defense cooperation in the coming years.
