By Zhang Gaosheng
张高胜
Recently, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Finland have repeatedly signaled their potential or ongoing preparations to withdraw from the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production, and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction (the Ottawa convention), sparking widespread international attention and debate.
近期，爱沙尼亚、拉脱维亚、立陶宛、波兰、芬兰五国向国际社会密集释放可能或正在准备退出《渥太华公约》的消息，引发了国际社会的广泛关注和争议。
Landmines cause numerous casualties worldwide each year, with civilians making up the majority of the victims. During the Vietnam War, US forces planted vast numbers of landmines across Vietnam, leaving many still unexploded to this day. In 1997, the international community adopted the Ottawa Convention, aiming to completely prohibit the production, stockpiling, use, and transfer of anti-personnel mines while promoting the destruction of existing stockpiles. So far, more than 160 countries and regions have signed the convention.
全球每年因地雷伤亡的人数众多，其中绝大部分是平民。越战期间，美军在越南境内埋设大量地雷，导致其境内至今仍有很多地雷尚未清除。国际社会在1997年通过了《渥太华公约》，旨在全面禁止杀伤人员地雷的生产、储存、使用和转让，并推动销毁现存的地雷库存。截至目前，已有160多个国家和地区签署该公约。
The above-mentioned five countries are among the signatories of the Ottawa Convention. Their consideration of withdrawing from the convention is primarily driven by security concerns. Since the escalation of the Ukraine crisis in 2022, Europe's geopolitical landscape has remained in turmoil. The five countries, bordering Russia, face heightened border pressure, making military defense a central policy focus. Meanwhile, the Trump administration's transactional approach to NATO has deepened security anxieties among European allies. Against this background, the five countries began to reevaluate their own defense strategies.
波兰、芬兰等五国是《渥太华公约》缔约国。五国考虑退约主要是出于安全关切。自2022年乌克兰危机升级以来，欧洲地缘政治格局持续震荡。五国毗邻俄罗斯，边境线压力骤增，军事防御需求成为其政策核心。而特朗普政府对北约的“交易式”态度，更令欧洲盟友陷入安全焦虑。在此背景下，五国开始重新评估自身防御策略。
In the meantime, the extensive use of landmines by both Russia and Ukraine to slow enemy advances has highlighted the effectiveness of traditional defense methods. By withdrawing from the convention, the five countries not only gain more tactical flexibility in border defense but also send a strong signal to the international community about their commitment to strengthening autonomous security.
同时，俄乌双方在冲突中大规模使用地雷迟滞对方行动，凸显了传统防御手段的有效性。退出公约，五国不仅能在边境防御上有更多战术选择，更可向国际社会释放“强化自主安全”的强硬信号。
However, if these countries withdraw from the convention, it could lead to a dual negative impact.
但是，这些国家若退出《渥太华公约》，可能造成以下双重消极影响。
On one hand, it could severely disrupt regional security. The withdrawal of these five countries may trigger a chain reaction, prompting neighboring and even other countries to take similar steps. Russia might respond with corresponding military measures to safeguard its own security, further escalating tensions in Europe. This would not only drain significant resources but also heighten the risk of military conflicts and make the regional security environment even more unstable.
一方面，严重冲击地区安全秩序。五国退约可能引发周边乃至世界其他国家采取类似行动的连锁反应。俄罗斯可能会采取相应的军事措施来维护自身安全，进一步加剧欧洲地区紧张局势。这不仅会消耗大量的资源，还会增加军事冲突的风险，使欧洲地区安全环境变得更加不稳定。
On the other hand, it would harm the international humanitarian cause and have a negative impact on international relations. The convention is a significant achievement of international cooperation in the fields of humanitarianism and arms control. The withdrawal of these five countries would have a detrimental spillover effect on international relations, undermine cooperation and mutual trust in arms control and humanitarian efforts, and poison the atmosphere of international cooperation.
另一方面，损害国际人道主义事业，对国际关系产生负面影响。《渥太华公约》是国际社会在人道主义和军控领域合作的重要成果。五国退约行为将对国际关系产生负面溢出效应，破坏国际社会在军控和人道主义领域的合作与互信，毒害国际合作氛围。
In conclusion, the withdrawal of these five countries reflects the geopolitical backlash against the international community's humanitarian efforts to ban anti-personnel landmines. The clash between national security claims and humanitarian concerns highlights the deep-rooted contradictions in contemporary international security governance. The international community should actively promote peaceful resolutions to regional conflicts, use diplomatic mediation and negotiations to ease geopolitical tensions and reduce the use and spread of landmines in conflicts.
总而言之，五国退约反映出国际社会禁止地雷的人道努力遭遇地缘政治逆流。这种国家安全诉求与人道主义的碰撞，折射出当代国际安全治理体系的深层矛盾。国际社会应积极推动地区冲突的和平解决，通过外交斡旋、调解等方式，缓解地缘政治紧张局势，减少因冲突导致的地雷使用和扩散。
(The author is an assistant research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies.)
（作者系中国国际问题研究院世界和平与安全研究所助理研究员）
Editor's Note: Originally published on thepaper.cn, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.
