Secretary-General Mark Rutte said the Baltic Sentry’s mission was to protect vital submarine cables following the series of incidents.
NATO chief Mark Rutte said the US-led military alliance would launch a new mission to protect undersea cables in the Baltic Sea region.
Prime Minister Rutte made the announcement on Tuesday at a meeting attended by the leaders of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden in Helsinki, the Finnish capital.
“A wide range of assets will be involved, including frigates and maritime patrol aircraft, to strengthen vigilance in the Baltic Sea,” the Secretary-General told reporters.
Rutte also said a small naval drone fleet would be deployed to “provide enhanced surveillance and deterrence” under the so-called Baltic Sentry mission.
multiple incidents
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, several high-profile infrastructure incidents have occurred in the Baltic Sea.
In September 2022, a series of underwater explosions ruptured the Nord Stream pipeline carrying Russian gas to Europe, the cause of which has not yet been determined.
No one has claimed responsibility, but Russia has repeatedly claimed, without providing evidence, that the attack was carried out by the United States and Britain, both of which deny the charges.
In October 2023, an undersea gas pipeline connecting Finland and Estonia was damaged by the anchor of a Chinese cargo ship and shut down.
Most recently, Finland reported that the tanker Eagle S had been seized in connection with an undersea cable damage incident that occurred on Christmas Day.
Rutte said more than 95% of internet traffic is protected by submarine cables, with 1.3 million kilometers (808,000 miles) of cables securing an estimated $10 trillion worth of financial transactions every day.
“Across the Alliance, we have identified elements of operations to destabilize societies through cyberattacks, assassination attempts, and acts of sabotage, including possible sabotage of submarine cables in the Baltic Sea,” Rutte said.
Rutte said NATO’s adversaries should know that the alliance will not accept attacks on critical infrastructure, stressing that it would “do everything in its power to ensure we fight back.”
Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told reporters upon arriving for a meeting in Helsinki that it was “totally unacceptable that these incidents seem to have increased recently”, but he did not clarify who was responsible. He said he was cautious about doing so.
