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Sweden to Contribute Up to 3 Warships to Reinforced NATO Presence in the Baltic

Sweden Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson speaks to the Associated Press during an interview at the Estonian Knighthood House in Tallinn, Estonia, on Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
Sweden Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson speaks to the Associated Press during an interview at the Estonian Knighthood House in Tallinn, Estonia, on Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
TT
TT

Sweden to Contribute Up to 3 Warships to Reinforced NATO Presence in the Baltic

Sweden Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson speaks to the Associated Press during an interview at the Estonian Knighthood House in Tallinn, Estonia, on Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
Sweden Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson speaks to the Associated Press during an interview at the Estonian Knighthood House in Tallinn, Estonia, on Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

Sweden will contribute up to three warships to a NATO effort to increase the alliance's presence in the Baltic Sea as it tries to guard against sabotage of underwater infrastructure, the government said Sunday.

The Swedish military also will contribute an ASC 890 surveillance aircraft, the government said in a statement. And the country's coast guard will contribute four ships to help monitor the Baltic, with a further seven vessels on standby.

Sweden became the Western military alliance’s 32nd member in March. It followed neighboring Finland into NATO after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The government said this will be the first time that Sweden as a NATO ally contributes armed forces to the alliance's defense and deterrence, The AP reported.

The decision comes as a string of incidents in the Baltic has heightened concerns about possible Russian activities in the region.

The undersea cables and pipelines that crisscross the sea link Nordic, Baltic and central European countries, promote trade, energy security and, in some cases, reduce dependence on Russian energy resources.

Ten Baltic Sea cables have been damaged since 2023, affecting Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Germany and Lithuania. At least two incidents involved ships later accused of dragging their anchors.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said at an annual security conference Sunday that Sweden is not at war, but there is also no peace, Swedish news agency TT reported.

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NATO Announces New Mission to Protect Undersea Cables in the Baltic Sea Region

Estonian naval ships sail in the Baltic Sea on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, as part of stepped-up NATO patrols in the region following suspected sabotage - The AP
Estonian naval ships sail in the Baltic Sea on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, as part of stepped-up NATO patrols in the region following suspected sabotage - The AP
TT
TT

NATO Announces New Mission to Protect Undersea Cables in the Baltic Sea Region

Estonian naval ships sail in the Baltic Sea on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, as part of stepped-up NATO patrols in the region following suspected sabotage - The AP
Estonian naval ships sail in the Baltic Sea on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, as part of stepped-up NATO patrols in the region following suspected sabotage - The AP

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte announced Tuesday that the alliance is launching a new mission to protect undersea cables in the Baltic Sea region.

Rutte said at a meeting in Helsinki with the leaders of NATO countries located on the Baltic Sea that the effort would be dubbed Baltic Sentry.

“It will involve a range of assets, including frigates and maritime patrol aircraft, among others, and will enhance our vigilance in the Baltic,” Rutte told reporters. He also said that a small fleet of naval drones will be deployed “to provide enhanced surveillance and deterrence.”

The meeting follows a string of incidents in the Baltic that have heightened concerns about possible Russian activities in the region.

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

Finland President Alexander Stubb said the issue had been discussed at the meeting without giving details.

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

Announcing the new operation, Rutte noted that more than 95% of internet traffic is secured via undersea cables, and 1.3 million kilometers (808,000 miles) of cables guarantee an estimated $10 trillion worth of financial transactions every day.

“Across the alliance, we have seen elements of a campaign to destabilize our societies through cyberattacks, assassination attempts and sabotage, including possible sabotage of undersea cables in the Baltic Sea,” he said.

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.”

Pressed for details about what the operation might involve, Rutte declined to provide ship numbers, saying that the figure could vary week to week, and “we don’t want to make the enemy, any wiser than he or she is already.”

“We will make use of the full range of possibilities we as an alliance have,” he said, including “remotely operated vehicles” and drones.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in separate remarks to reporters that Germany will participate in the Baltic Sentry mission. Asked whether that means Germany will contribute ships or surveillance planes and whether he made a specific offer, he replied: “We will participate with everything we have in the way of naval capabilities; that will vary, as far as the concrete possibilities of deployment are concerned.”