STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden will contribute as much as three warships to a NATO effort to extend the alliance’s presence within the Baltic Sea because it tries to protect towards sabotage of underwater infrastructure, the federal government mentioned Sunday.
The Swedish army additionally will contribute an ASC 890 surveillance plane, the federal government mentioned in a press release. And the nation’s coast guard will contribute 4 ships to assist monitor the Baltic, with an additional seven vessels on standby.
Sweden grew to become the Western army alliance’s thirty second member in March. It adopted neighboring Finland into NATO after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The federal government mentioned this would be the first time that Sweden as a NATO ally contributes armed forces to the alliance’s protection and deterrence.
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The choice comes as a string of incidents within the Baltic has heightened considerations about doable Russian actions within the area.
The undersea cables and pipelines that crisscross the ocean hyperlink Nordic, Baltic and central European international locations, promote commerce, power safety and, in some instances, cut back dependence on Russian power assets.
Ten Baltic Sea cables have been broken since 2023, affecting Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Germany and Lithuania. At the least two incidents concerned ships later accused of dragging their anchors.
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson mentioned at an annual safety convention Sunday that Sweden shouldn’t be at conflict, however there’s additionally no peace, Swedish information company TT reported.
