Dangerous to view world’s conflicts as distant and unrelated: Estonian PM

She points to history, when seemingly isolated incidents led to World War II

- Walter Sim

TALLINN, Estonia - Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine should not be seen as a faraway war for those in Asia, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said on May 17, just as European democracies have a vested interest in the stability of the IndoPacific region.

With several conflicts simmering in various parts of the world today, Ms Kallas warned of the dangers of perceiving them as unrelated incidents because they are geographically distant, pointing to history when seemingly isolated incidents led to World War II.

"What is important to understand is that there are different tensions building up all across the world," she said, at a media roundtable discussion on May 17 on the sidelines of the Lennart Meri security conference.

Ms Kallas pointed to the ongoing border conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the current Middle East situation, and flash points in the disputed South China Sea.

"In 1938, I think a mistake was made to treat... the Italian invasion of Abyssinia (modern-day Ethiopia), the German occupation and... the Japan war... as isolated events.

And I think we shouldn't do that now," she added. The stakes are high for small states such as Estonia and Singapore, which must raise their voices to protect principles and stand up for a rules-based order that is fraying amid a great power battle for influence among countries in the so-called Global South, said Ms Kallas.

Moreover, Estonia is a Baltic state of 1.3 million people that was part of the Soviet Union until 1991 and borders Russia. It is near the front line of the conflict in Ukraine.