Both Latvia and Europe are in a situation when all institutions have to be ready to repel hybrid war elements every day, said Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs after meeting with Prime Minister Evika Siliņa on Wednesday, the 15th of January.
The politician stated that he informed the Prime Minister about the Baltic Sea NATO Allied Summit held in Helsinki, Finland, on the 14th of January, and the decisions that was prepared in advance. According to the President, the decisions made at the summit are absolutely necessary for the protection of critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea. Rinkēvičs emphasized that Latvia will participate in and support the NATO Baltic Sentry mission.
“We discussed with the Prime Minister the need to revise our legal framework again so that Latvia could act similarly to Finland in relation to the [submarine cable] incident in December. […] We will continue to work with allies to be able to respond to such events in a timely manner and keep them to a minimum,” said the President.
At a meeting of NATO leaders on the Baltic coast in Helsinki, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte reportedly announced that NATO was launching a new mission to protect underwater cables in the Baltic Sea.
The name of the new mission will be “Baltic Sentry”.
“It will involve various means, including frigates and sea patrol aircraft, among others, and will reinforce our vigilance in the Baltic Sea,” Rutte said, adding that a small fleet of sea drones will also be deployed to “provide enhanced surveillance and deterrence.”
When announcing the new NATO mission, Rutte said that more than 95% of internet data flow is supplied using underwater cables, and 1.3 million km of cables ensure the flow of data concerning transactions worth approximately USD 10 trillion.
“Throughout the alliance, we have observed elements of a campaign aimed at destabilising our society through cyber attacks, assassination attempts and sabotage, including the possible sabotage of underwater cables in the Baltic Sea,” said the NATO Secretary General.
Rutte said NATO adversaries need to know that the alliance will not accept attacks on its critical infrastructure, stressing that “we will do everything in our power to ensure that we respond with counter-force, that we are able to see what is happening and then take further steps to ensure that this does not happen again”.
He declined to name the exact number of ships that could take part in the new mission, saying that the number could change from week to week and that “we don’t want to make the enemy smarter than he already is.”
“We will make the most of what we have as an alliance,” he stressed, adding that “remotely piloted vehicles” and drones will also be used.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, attending the meeting, told journalists that Lithuania would send ships and helicopters to the mission, but did not mention their number.
The announcement from NATO does not specify how long this mission would last.
The meeting in Helsinki came after several incidents in the Baltic Sea, when critical underwater infrastructure was damaged due to alleged Russian sabotage.
Also read: Mystical drones above Riga airport: why didn’t Latvia shoot them down?
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Publish date : 2025-01-15 03:32:00
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