According to the Swedish Defense Minister, the actions send a message to Russia. Finland is involved in defense cooperation led by Britain.
Justas Stasevskij,
Maria Stenroos
The defense ministers of the British-led JEF countries agreed today to increase maritime surveillance in the Baltic Sea in a coordinated manner to protect critical undersea infrastructure. Published by the British Government announcement about the decision. According to the release, patrolling will begin at the beginning of December.
JEF, or Joint Expeditionary Force, is a multilateral defense cooperation framework led by Britain. It includes Great Britain, Finland, Holland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Estonia.
Minister of Defense Antti Häkkänen comment on the decision briefly in the social media service X.
An anonymous source from the Ministry of Defense also confirms the matter to .
– It means a coordinated increase in the level of activity for an agreed deadline. The activity mainly consists of training, the source says.
Swedish according to the public broadcasting company SVT the countries of the alliance start patrolling the Baltic Sea with a force of 20 ships.
– It’s about maritime surveillance – about 20 warships patrol the Baltic Sea, but also in part of the North Atlantic, in order to take into account the security situation and better protect critical infrastructure under water, the Swedish Minister of Defense Paul Jonson said.
JEF has not previously decided on similar operational measures. According to the Minister of Defense, today’s decision was made in close cooperation with NATO.
According to Jonson, the decision also sends a message to Russia.
The JEF countries met in October in Sweden. At the meeting, it was decided to prepare a plan to protect the critical underwater infrastructure. Finland was represented by the president Sauli Niinistö.
Updated at 22:51. Added Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen’s tweet.