Sweden pledges warships, surveillance aircraft to NATO’s Baltic Sea mission

Sweden has pledged to contribute up to three warships to NATO’s efforts to bolster the alliance's presence in the Baltic Sea, aimed at protecting underwater infrastructure from potential sabotage, the government announced.

The Swedish military also will contribute an ASC 890 surveillance aircraft, Stockholm said, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.

And the country's coast guard will contribute four ships to help monitor the Baltic, with a further seven vessels on standby.

The government said this will be the first time that Sweden has contributed armed forces to the alliance's defence and deterrence since joining the alliance in March last year.

Sweden became NATO’s 32nd member and followed neighbouring Finland into NATO in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

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

At the end of December, NATO chief Mark Rutte said the alliance would step up its military presence in the Baltic Sea.

That came after an incident on Christmas day when the Estlink-2 cable which runs between Finland and Estonia was damaged.

Officials in both countries suspect the Russia-linked oil tanker Eagle S of being responsible by dragging its anchor along the seabed.

The Eagle S is flagged in the Cook Islands but has been described by Finnish customs and EU officials as being part of Russia's shadow fleet of tankers shipping oil and gas in defiance of international sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine.

The aging vessels, often with obscure ownership, routinely operate without Western-regulated insurance.

Finnish police impounded the vessel and took it back to port at the end of December and by early January, all of its 24-strong crew had been arrested with eight subject to movement restrictions.

News.Az