Estonia wants NATO members to start monitoring Baltic Sea infrastructure on rotation, similar to the air policing mission, following suspected sabotage of undersea cables. A dozen ships will be deployed to the region until April, the alliance said on Monday.
Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur (Reform) said negotiations are underway to that would see the maritime operations center run by countries on rotation in the future.
“Regarding the maritime domain, we have always maintained that the Baltic Sea cannot be divided in terms of defense, which is why NATO has agreed that the countries bordering the Baltic Sea will jointly establish a maritime operations center for its defense. Initially, Germany will take primary responsibility. Negotiations are currently underway on whether and how Sweden and Poland could be involved to introduce a rotation system, similar to the air policing mission, where various countries contribute to Baltic air security on a rotating basis,” Pevkur told Tuesday’s “Aktuaalne kaamera.”
This week, the minister plans to submit a bill to the government that would give the navy greater rights to respond to suspected sabotage.
“This means that the Navy will gain the authority to intervene in Estonia’s exclusive economic zone as well. There is already no question about territorial waters — that authority is already in place. We are drafting a law that will grant the Estonian Navy the right to intervene in the exclusive economic zone in international waters if necessary. This can be done in cooperation with the Police and Border Guard Board, for example, by using their helicopter or the K-Commando unit, or by involving foreign partners,” Pevkur said.
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