In the early days of restored independence, in the 1990s, Estonia's border was staffed by military conscripts armed with machine guns and other weaponry, but since 2000 a fully professional border guard service was formed, and merged a decade or so later with the police to form the present-day PPA.

While the PPA would retain the border guard role, changes can include revising the time-consuming requirement for their officials to seek government approval to call in the Estonian Defense Forces, who would then plan an operation and deploy their unit, if an armed response at the border is needed.

Not only would militarization of the border in this way serve as a deterrent, it would also help adapt to modern day hybrid-style actions, such as the Narva River buoy theft incident in late May, which required careful management of public expectations on the Estonian side while not escalating the deliberate provocation made from the Russian side.

Interior Minister Lauri Läänemets (SDE) has said the initiative is "political," calling it a "semi-militarization," capable for instance of stopping armored vehicles in their tracks; since re-militarizing the border with military personnel had been a policy of the Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE), Läänemets was likely anxious to stress the nuances here too.

The original Baltic Sentinel piece is here.

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