Nato to protect undersea cables in Baltic Sea region

Nato is launching a new mission to protect undersea cables in the Baltic Sea region after a string of incidents that have heightened fears of Russian sabotage and spying in the strategic region, the alliance’s leader said on Tuesday.

Secretary-General Mark Rutte said that the mission dubbed Baltic Sentry would include frigates, maritime patrol aircraft and a fleet of naval drones to provide “enhanced surveillance and deterrence.”

“Across the alliance, we have seen elements of a campaign to destabilise our societies through cyberattacks, assassination attempts and sabotage, including possible sabotage of undersea cables in the Baltic Sea,” Rutte told reporters after a meeting in Helsinki with the leaders of Allied Baltic nations.

Announcing the new operation, Rutte noted that more than 95% of internet traffic is secured via undersea cables, and 1.3 million kilometres of cables guarantee an estimated $10 trillion worth of financial transactions every day.

Even as Rutte was meeting in Helsinki with the leaders of the Baltic nations, there were reports on the Polish state broadcaster TVP World that a ship belonging to Russia’s “shadow fleet” was seen circling a natural gas pipeline that runs from Norway to Poland.

The fleet is made up of hundreds of aging tankers of uncertain ownership and safety practices that are dodging sanctions and keeping the oil revenue flowing to Moscow.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, speaking at a later news briefing in Helsinki, said he had not yet received a report on that matter but would inform the public once he learned more.

Rutte said Nato’s adversaries must know that the alliance will not accept attacks on its critical infrastructure, underlining that “we will do everything in our power to make sure that we fight back, that we are able to see what is happening and then take the next steps to make sure that that doesn’t happen again.”

The meeting included leaders from Finland, Germany, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.

In a statement, the Baltic Sea allies warned that “we reserve our rights, in accordance with international law, to take action against any suspected vessels that circumvent sanctions and threaten our security, infrastructure and the environment.”

They said that “Russia’s use of the so-called shadow fleet poses a particular threat to the maritime and environmental security.” They said that beyond threatening undersea infrastructure, “this reprehensible practice” also “significantly supports funding of Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine.”

Associated Press