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NATO chief announces launch of a new mission in Baltic Sea region to protect undersea cables

The latest decision was taken by the US-led Western nations' military alliance after several incidents in the Baltic region heightened concerns about possible Russian activities.

Edited By: Shubham Bajpai Helsinki (Finland) Published : Jan 14, 2025 16:40 IST, Updated : Jan 14, 2025 16:55 IST
NATO announced new mission in Baltic sea region
Image Source : AP/FILE NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte

In a major development, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Tuesday announced that the alliance is set to launch a new mission to protect undersea cables in the Baltic Sea region. At a meeting with the leaders of NATO countries located on the Baltic Sea in Finland's Helsinki, Rutte said that the effort would be dubbed Baltic Sentry.

Rutte briefed the media about the latest decision and said, "It will involve a range of assets, including frigates and maritime patrol aircraft, among others, and will enhance our vigilance in the Baltic." He also added that a small fleet of naval drones will be deployed “to provide enhanced surveillance and deterrence”. The meeting came in the wake of a string of incidents in the Baltic that has heightened concerns about possible Russian activities in the region.

While announcing the new operation, Rutte highlighted the significance and cruciality of undersea cables. He noted that more than 95 per cent of internet traffic is secured via undersea cables, and 1.3 million kilometres (808,000 miles) of cables guarantee an estimated $10 trillion worth of financial transactions every day.

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.”

Recent undersea cable sabotage incidents

On December 25, the Estlink-2 power cable, which transmits energy from Finland to Estonia across the Baltic Sea, went down after a rupture. The incident prompted investigation and it was widely considered as an act of sabotage given similar two incidents in November.

Earlier in November, two undersea power cables, one running between Finland and Germany and other between Lithuania and Sweden, were severed. 

After the incident, German defense minister said officials had to assume the incident was “sabotage,” but without providing evidence or saying who might have been responsible. The remark came during a speech in which he discussed hybrid warfare threats from Russia.

(With inputs from AP)

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