NATO steps up patrols of strategic Baltic Sea

The US-led bloc cited the need to protect undersea infrastructure after ‘possible’ sabotage in the area

The US-led NATO bloc on Tuesday announce it will increase its Baltic Sea presence by launching a new mission called Baltic Sentry. It is being set up under the pretext to protect undersea infrastructure after a string of disruptions and damage to cables in the region.

Russia perceives the Baltic Sea as a strategic area for its naval operations and energy exports.

Unveiling the operation, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said it is set to involve frigates, maritime patrol aircraft and a “small fleet of naval drones,” that are expected to provide “enhanced surveillance and deterrence” in the Baltic Sea.

“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,” Rutte told reporters in Helsinki after NATO’s Summit of Baltic Sea Allies that brought together leaders from Finland, Poland, Denmark, Germany, Sweden, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.

The cable incidents have been linked to a Chinese ship, the Yi Peng 3, which had passed over two cables, allegedly severing them with its anchor dragging across the seabed. The EU investigators were permitted to board the vessel to investigate, and the ship was allowed to resume its journey. China has said it will continue to cooperate.  

The most recent incident occurred late in December, with a supposedly Russia-linked oil tanker, the Eagle S, allegedly damaging the EstLink 2 power cable, which connects Finland and Estonia. In the absence of concrete proof, officials have stopped short of directly implicating Moscow. 

The vessel ended up boarded and seized by Finnish police and border guards, with investigators claiming the ship was missing one of her anchors.

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Determining whether cable damage is accidental or intentional can also be challenging.

Damage to undersea infrastructure is relatively common, with approximately 200 cable faults reported annually, according to the International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC). The majority of these incidents are attributed to human activities like accidental dragging of anchors over subsea cables during anchoring in or near cable-protected areas, or during fishing activities like trawling, where heavy nets or equipment are dragged along the seafloor.

The development constitutes the latest uptick in the bloc’s military activities on its eastern flank, which have been steadily expanding over the past few years under the pretext of an alleged Russian threat. 

NATO members had already been regularly conducting naval drills in the region, as well as so-called air-policing missions, which routinely involve fighter-jet flyovers close to Russia’s borders that have repeatedly resulted in run-ins with the country’s air force.

The Baltic Sea became an “internal lake of NATO” after Finland and Sweden joined the alliance. That expansion left Russia controlling only a small portion of the coastline—approximately 7%—with the Kaliningrad exclave and parts of the St. Petersburg area being its main points of access.