Poland proposes protection of the Baltic Sea with naval deployment

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has proposed joint monitoring of the Baltic Sea by the navies of the Baltic NATO states following damage to undersea communication cables in the region.

"Baltic Air Policing already exists for the airspace over the Baltic Sea," Tusk said before a meeting in Stockholm with the heads of government of the Nordic and Baltic states on Wednesday.

"I will convince our partners of the necessity to immediately create an analogous formula for the control and security of the Baltic Sea waters, a naval surveillance," said Tusk.

This should be a joint endeavour of all Baltic Sea countries that feel threatened by Russia, he said.

Damage to two communication cables was discovered in the Baltic Sea within a short period of time a week-and-a-half ago. The cables run between Helsinki in Finland and Rostock in Germany and between Sweden and Lithuania.

The cause of the damage in both cases is still unknown. Swedish police have launched an investigation into possible sabotage, and other countries are also investigating the incidents.

Investigators are particularly interested in the Chinese cargo ship Yi Peng 3, which is thought to have passed both locations at the times of the cable breaks.

The meeting in Sweden is the first of the Nordic-Baltic heads of government since 2017. Poland is attending for the first time ever.