The ten Nordic countries that are members of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) decided on Tuesday to activate the “defense clause”, which involves the deployment of additional military resources to protect underwater infrastructure in the Baltic Sea after several incidents, AFP reported. .

Explosion at the Balticconnector gas pipelinePhoto: Mihkel Maripuu / Imago Stock and Photo / Profimedia Images

“This includes naval and air assets that will be deployed in the heart of the JEF region, making a military contribution to the protection of key underwater infrastructures,” the defense ministers of the ten countries said in a statement following the meeting.

“This is the first time that the JEF has activated the safeguard clause,” they said, indicating that the action would begin “in early December.”

The JEF is a coalition of 10 countries led by Great Britain, including Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden, which are united around issues of operational defense in Northern Europe.

Russia’s signal link

“We are talking about maritime surveillance, and about twenty warships will be deployed in the Baltic Sea, as well as in the North Atlantic areas, to take into account the security situation and ensure better protection of key underwater infrastructures,” explained the Swedish Defense Minister. , Pal Johnson, on public television station SVT.

He emphasized that it is about “a very serious security situation in the world and especially in our neighborhood.”

“We need to be able to conduct these types of operations to protect our vital infrastructure and also to send a signal to Russia,” he added.

In October, JEF countries agreed to strengthen security in the Baltic Sea after a Finnish undersea gas pipeline had to be shut down due to a leak caused by “external” interference.

Finnish police later determined that the damage was caused by an anchor found at the site of a Chinese merchant ship that later left the area.

However, the incident has sparked speculation following explosions in September 2022 that ruptured two underwater Nord Stream pipelines transporting Russian gas to Western Europe amid a standoff with Moscow over the war in Ukraine.