We all know — or at least think we know — what the commander of the Defense Forces' military advice to the government entails. It's the advice on what the state must do and what the Defense Forces need in order to win a war, should one arise.

But alongside this military advice, we also need internal security advice of equal weight, jointly provided by the heads of the Police and Border Guard Board (PPA), the Internal Security Service (ISS) and the Rescue Board. Only then can we truly speak of Estonia's comprehensive defense.

War already here, hybrid war

According to one explanation given by Commander of the Defense Forces Maj. Gen. Andrus Merilo, the goal of his military advice is "to inform the government about the threat landscape, trends in threat developments and the needs we must address in order to fulfill our responsibilities."

Of course, we must understand Russia's potential intentions and capabilities to launch military aggression against its neighbors. That is elementary. This knowledge gives us the wisdom to counter military threats, to be prepared in the best possible way and to do all of it together with our allies in such a deterrent manner that war is avoided. After all, no one would launch a military attack against the European Union or NATO knowing that a collective response would come immediately and crush the aggressor.

I do not want to frighten anyone, but it must be honestly acknowledged that, unfortunately, war is already present in Estonia. A hybrid war. The only force within the country preventing it from escalating into a full-scale war is our internal security forces.

We see a similar situation in all European Union and NATO border countries, where governments and security services are searching for ways to contain and win this so-called shadow war. The Estonian Constitution also articulates such a broad mission, stating that our state is founded "to protect internal and external peace." Let's remember: both internal and external peace — equally.

First, you need to defeat the enemy through non-military means

As minister of the interior, I think with respect and pride of the people in my area of governance who safeguard Estonia's internal peace. The Police and Border Guard Board, the Internal Security Service, the Rescue Board, the Emergency Response Center, SMIT (the state's largest IT institution — our Information Technology and Development Center, which forms the backbone of a modern, technology-based internal security) and the Academy of Security Sciences. They do this day and night, around the clock, professionally and successfully. This is the first and also the last line of defense for national security and internal safety before conventional warfare.

In order for this line of defense to hold, the leaders of these institutions are expected — each in their own field and through interagency cooperation — to defeat the adversary on Estonian soil using non-military means. It's a complex task that requires intelligent people and modern tools.

The threat landscape for non-military activity is richer in detail (and the devil is in those details) than a purely military perspective, and the adversary's actions are more concealed than just building military capabilities on the other side of the border. For instance, the phrase "Russia's full-scale aggression in Ukraine" includes a strong and visible military component, from missile strikes to the use of sabotage groups. But importantly, that phrase also encompasses a targeted effort to undermine internal security — an effort that equally lays the groundwork for the loss of a state's independence and territorial integrity. This naturally occurs in tandem with military activity.

So what is internal security? It means the state's continuity and functioning in accordance with the Constitution, achieved primarily by preventing and countering hostile non-military actions against the state. Internal safety, in turn, refers to a stable living environment where people's lives, property and rights are protected — an environment that depends on public order and effective civil protection.

Mention in the coalition agreement

I believe it's time to establish a new practice whereby the heads of the Police and Border Guard Board, the Internal Security Service and the Rescue Board jointly present an annual internal security briefing to the government — one that would logically stand alongside the commander of the Defense Forces' military advice.

That's why I proposed adding the following sentence to the coalition agreement: "In developing the capabilities necessary for the state's continuity, we will consider the internal security advice of the directors general of the PPA, ISS and the Rescue Board."

Such internal security advice would define the threat landscape for domestic security and safety, as well as our needs to mitigate those threats. Yes, our needs — which, in bureaucratic terms, are called "resources," but in reality, that means money. Unfortunately, internal security and safety cannot be maintained or developed through volunteerism alone.

Separating Estonia's defense into military defense and internal security is artificial and misleading. Estonia is not protected if our military defense is weak and our internal security is exceptionally strong. And the reverse is also true: Estonia is not protected if our military defense is top-tier and far-reaching, but our internal security is lacking. National defense is comprehensive — we remember that, don't we?

Let's be honest: the majority of highly probable security threats are primarily non-military. Unlike war, they are already here. Our task — from the PPA to SMIT and across all agencies under the Ministry of the Interior — is to both mitigate these threats and prepare for possible escalation. One practical example is mass evacuation: we must be ready to evacuate large numbers of people simultaneously in the event of so-called civil threats, whether due to flooding or an industrial accident, as well as in a military threat scenario — where the scale, constraints and conditions are entirely different.

An annual joint internal security briefing to the government by the heads of the PPA, ISS and Rescue Board would be a meaningful complement to the military advice provided by the commander of the Defense Forces. It would allow us to view Estonia's defense from all the necessary angles.

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