There is no doubt Russia has “the intent and the ability” to target undersea energy and communication lines, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said.
He made the comments as Britain agreed with Norway to increase cooperation on undersea capabilities, including countering threats to undersea infrastructure.
At a press conference alongside Norwegian Defence Minister Bjorn Arild Gram at the Northwood military base on Thursday, Wallace said Moscow has “a specific naval programme designed to both look at and potentially sabotage or attack critical national infrastructure belonging to its adversaries.”
Russia “has a number of submarines and other pieces of equipment and spy ships and everything else specifically designed for that purpose,” he told reporters.
“So whether we are talking about Nord Stream, whether we are talking about our own infrastructure, that is an area that is vulnerable and needs to be protected.”
Nord Stream Blasts
In September 2022, several unexplained underwater explosions ruptured the Nord Stream 1 and newly-built Nord Stream two pipelines that link Russia and Germany across the Baltic Sea.The blasts occurred in the economic zones of Sweden and Denmark and both countries say the explosions were deliberate, but have yet to determine who was responsible. The two countries and Germany are investigating the incident.
Moscow has blamed the explosions on Western sabotage, but both the United States and Ukraine have denied having anything to do with the attacks.
Undersea Threats
The two defence chiefs signed a statement of intent to increase cooperation in countering undersea threats.In a statement, Wallace said Britain and Norway are heightening their “joint capabilities to protect Western critical national infrastructure on the seabed.”
“The attack on the Nord Stream pipeline has determined even closer collaboration across our collective assets to detect and defend against subsea threats and ensure continued North Atlantic security,” he added.
The two nations agreed to increase cooperation to improve their ability to detect submarines, counter mine threats, and generally enhance North Atlantic security.
The agreement also bolsters the development of better technology to protect shared interests in the North Sea while streamlining the process for other allies to join their activity, according to the Ministry of Defence.
They have already jointly increased security patrols in the region where the unexplained blasts occurred.
NATO Warning
Following the Nord Stream blasts, NATO significantly increased the number of ships patrolling the North and Baltic seas, and established a Critical Undersea Infrastructure Protection Cell to improve cooperation with industry, capitals, and experts.NATO’s intelligence chief David Cattler warned earlier this month that Russia may sabotage undersea cables to punish Western nations for supporting Ukraine.
“There are heightened concerns that Russia may target undersea cables and other critical infrastructure in an effort to disrupt Western life, to gain leverage against those nations that are providing security to Ukraine,” he told reporters in Brussels.
On May 4, the Polish government approved draft legislation that would allow the military to—in “exceptional situations”—sink an enemy ship targeting a key gas pipeline from Norway via the Baltic Sea.
Warsaw said a permanent base for coast guard units would be established in Swinoujscie port, where a terminal for importing liquefied natural gas is located.
