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Chairman of the Estonian Delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Marko Mihkelson participates in the meeting of the NATO PA Defence and Security Committee in Honolulu, Hawaii (United States), where the Committee will visit several military bases and learn about the Pacific missile defence system.

“The Pacific region is of great relevance to the USA, the most important NATO ally. Besides the Russian and Chinese influence, a real threat caused by the North Korean nuclear programme has also emerged, especially during the last decades,” Mihkelson said before the visit. In his opinion, the visit will provide an excellent opportunity to learn about the threat picture and the necessary deterrence measures in one of the most critical regions for the USA, and thus also for the whole Alliance.

In the beginning of April, NATO will celebrate its 70th anniversary. “During those years, NATO has become the strongest defence alliance of free democratic countries, which has a stabilising impact from the Pacific region to the Baltic Sea,” Mihkelson emphasised. “NATO has justified itself in every way, and it is the duty of the allies to contribute to maintaining the operational strength of the Alliance.”

Mihkelson thinks that the visit of the NATO PA Defence and Security Committee to Hawaii proves that the member states trust and defend each other, and are constantly ready for all-around cooperation.

The Committee will visit the marine base Camp H. M. Smith, the headquarters of the US Indo-Pacific Command, where the members of the Committee will be briefed about the missile emergency system and the Pacific Missile Range Facility. They will also go to the training centre and the underground fuel storage facility.

The members of the Committee will also visit Pearl Harbor military base, where they will be given an overview of the US Pacific Air Force and US Pacific Fleet, and the ballistic missile defence system.

Riigikogu Press Service
Epp-Mare Kukemelk
+372 631 6356, +372 515 3903
Questions: press@riigikogu.ee