Joint press conference
by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte with the President of Finland Alexander Stubb and the Prime Minister of Estonia Kristen Michal at the Baltic Sea NATO Allies Summit.
(As delivered)
Dear Alex, Dear Kristen, thank you so much for co-hosting this Baltic Sea Allies Summit.
Today, Allies from the region gathered to address the growing threat to our critical undersea infrastructure. And I can indeed say we had excellent discussions.
Across the Alliance, we have seen elements of a campaign to destabilize our societies. Through cyberattacks, assassination attempts, and sabotage – including possible sabotage of undersea cables in the Baltic Sea. With damage to energy and telecoms cables that are vital for our nations' security and prosperity.
In the last two months alone, we have seen damage to a cable connecting Lithuania and Sweden, another connecting Germany and Finland, and most recently, a number of cables linking Estonia and Finland.
Investigations of all of these cases are still ongoing. But there is reason for grave concern.
Safeguarding our infrastructure is of utmost importance.
Not only is this crucial for energy supply – whether from power cables or pipelines.
But more than 95 percent of internet traffic is secured via undersea cables.
And 1.3 million kilometres of cables guarantee an estimated $10 trillion worth of financial transactions every day.
Recognizing the risks, Allies and NATO have responded.
Over the past two years, Allies have stepped up military patrols near critical infrastructures.
In May of last year, we established a new Maritime Centre for the Security of Critical Undersea Infrastructure within NATO’s Maritime Command in the United Kingdom.
We have also intensified coordination efforts between NATO Allies, the private sector, and other partners.
And we are working more broadly with the European Union.
But we must do more.
Today, I can announce that NATO is launching “Baltic Sentry”.
Under the authority of NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander, General Chris Cavoli, this military activity is part of our ongoing effort to enhance maritime presence and monitoring of key areas for our Alliance.
It will involve a range of assets, including frigates and maritime patrol aircraft, among others, and will enhance our vigilance in the Baltic.
Second, we have agreed today to launch an initiative to deploy new technologies to this effort, including a small fleet of naval drones, to provide enhanced surveillance and deterrence.
We are also working with Allies to integrate their national surveillance assets with NATO, ensuring comprehensive threat detection.
Third, robust enforcement is essential.
Finland has demonstrated that firm action within the law is possible.
Ship captains must understand that potential threats to our infrastructure will have consequences, including possible boarding, impounding, and arrest.
And while such law enforcement roles are for national authorities, we are best served when there is complementarity between NATO’s efforts to detect threats and deter aggression, and national efforts to enforce the law.
Lastly, enhancing resilience requires safer, more reparable, and more redundant infrastructure.
So that means we will work within our Critical Undersea Infrastructure Network – which includes industry operators – to better protect and secure vital undersea assets, and we need to explore how best to ensure that the right incentives are in place for more resilient systems.
So again Alex, and Kristen. Thank you again for hosting us today.
I am confident that – by working together with all Allies – we will do what it takes to ensure the safety and security not only of our critical infrastructure but of all that we hold dear.
Thank you.
Question - Thank you very much. This is [unclear] from Estonian television news. So we have heard a new word; Baltic Sea, Allied states - the BSAS – congratulations. But my questions actually goes to Secretary General. We have the Baltic air policing mission which is to grow into a Baltic air defence mission meaning that small states that don’t have fighters can have help from other Allies who have them. Do we see something similar happening on the Baltic Sea? Something like a BSAS navy that is kind of a navy of smaller states and bigger states that are kind of like, border patrolling, border defence missions? Thank you very much.
NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte – Thank you very much for that question. Of course, what we have to do within NATO and with our Allies is to always looking at the best way how to organise ourselves. And sometimes that is through the Forward Land Forces. Sometimes it is through jointly working on policing our airspace. But in this case, it is all about protecting the critical undersea infrastructure. And the point I am trying to make today is that where in the past we would discuss cyber-attacks and let’s say sabotage and energy blackmail as being sort of a separate set of actions, what we want to show today is that, as NATO, with our Allies we will make sure that our deterrence is in the right place, that we are able to exactly assess what is happening. That then the Allies, the Allies, are able to take the necessary actions. And that where we would talk in the past about hybrid threats - and it sounds a bit cuddly hybrid - but hybrid means sabotage. Hybrid means cyber-attacks. Hybrid means sometimes even assassination attacks, attempts, and in this case, it means hitting on our critical undersea infrastructure, that the Alliance will not accept that. And that we will do everything in our power to make sure that we fight back, that we are able to see what is happening and then take the next steps to make sure that it doesn't happen again. And our adversaries should know this. So, to your question, very good that we have all these separate ways of organising ourselves, and we will be able to do it also in the future. But this is an initiative particularly focused on making sure we can protect our critical undersea infrastructure.
Question - Thank you so much. My question is for all of you, Both you, Mr Secretary General and Swedish Prime Minister, have said recently that we are not at war, but not at peace either. What is your assessment, at this time of the security situation in light of these three cut cables or broken, cables, recently in the Baltic Sea. And is there an increased threat of a military conflict in the area? Thank you so much.
[The President of Finland, Alexander Stubb, responds]
NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte – I very much agree. And let me add to this, that at this moment, when it comes to kinetic warfare, we are safe. The Alliance is able to fight back to anyone who is trying to attack us. My biggest worry is that in four or five years, we are not if we will not invest more in our collective defence, if we will not do more to ramp up our industry production. And that is why I made that comment. Yes, at this moment we are facing these acts of sabotage and assassination attempts and energy, blackmail, so all these destabilising actions. The so-called hybrid warfare. But at the same time, when it comes to four or five years, when we look at this moment what the Russians are producing in three months, we are producing in a year. And ‘we’ is from Los Angeles up to and including Ankara, so the whole of the Alliance. And when we look at what we are spending, and the purchasing power the Russians have with the amount of money they are spending, we are really getting into difficulty if we do not ramp up the money we spent on defence and ramp up the defence industrial, defence industrial base. And this is really crucial. And I've not even talked about China, which is also, of course, investing heavily in its military, and will have 1000 nuclear warheads by 2030 so we really have to do this. This is urgent. It is urgent now. This cannot wait until some summit somewhere. We really have to get this done in the next couple of months. And of course, the Hague Summit will then play a big role.
[The Prime Minister of Estonia, Kristen Michal, responds]
Question – This morning we hear different approaches among the leaders, the national leaders about how assertive they’re willing to be. From what you’re saying now there’s been agreement that the Finnish approach is the way to go, that this is the way to deter the shadow fleet vessels from taking other malign actions. Do you have that agreement that was in NATO? All the Baltic Sea countries, for example Germany are going to be willing to follow this model that you will train law enforcement officials to scale the boats if necessary? To do what Finland did with the Eagle S. And is this possible under the current law of the sea - interpretation of the current law of the sea - without changes in the law, which, of course, would take a long time? Thank you very much.
NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte – Well, obviously it's up to each Ally to act at the end of the day when something is happening. But what we are very clear about is that a shadow fleet is a big issue, and not only because of sanctions circumvention and because of what happened with the cable cutting and the big environmental risks we are running through the shadow fleet, but we also all agree that we want to maintain UNCLOS, that means the law of the sea.
But within UNCLOS, a lot is possible. And anyone listening to this press conference thinking that UNCLOS would present any of the Allies within NATO to act when that is necessary would be wrong.
There are many options and possibilities to do that. I'm not going into all the details because that is legally, of course, extremely, we have to go to all the details of the legality. But I can assure you that we are all very much committed to make sure that our critical undersea infrastructure is protected.
Of course, what we want to do is to do the max, to cut off the Russians from this money.
[The President of Finland, Alexander Stubb, responds]
[The Prime Minister of Estonia, Kristen Michal, responds]
Question - Thank you very much, this is a question to all three of you about something that the Polish national broadcaster reported on barely an hour ago, let me read to you: "a Russian shadow fleet. the vessel has circled over a stretch of pipeline carrying Norwegian gas to Poland in the Baltic Sea", a source in the Polish Foreign Ministry has told the outlet. What I'm wondering is, has Mr Tusk briefed you on this? Have you had a discussion about this? And is this perhaps a message to this summit?
And a broader question here is, you talk a lot about robust measures and punishment of perpetrators and all sorts of sanctions, but do I understand correctly that prevention, at the end of the day, prevention of these kinds of attacks will not be completely possible basically ever?
[The President of Finland, Alexander Stubb, responds]
NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte – I completely agree with the reaction you just gave, not surprised
[The Prime Minister of Estonia, Kristen Michal, responds]
[The President of Finland, Alexander Stubb, responds]
Question - Could you be more detailed on the operation which could happen on the Baltic Sea? What kind of a protective operation, measures that will be on the Baltic Sea, for example how many military vessels to prevent further damage?
NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte – Very good question. And, of course, for the past two years already, as you know, Allies have stepped up military patrols near critical infrastructure. Baltic Sentry will encompass more ships, maritime aircraft patrols, submarines, satellites, and surveillance drones.
I'm not going into detail how many ships exactly because that might differ from one week to another and we don't want to make the enemy any wiser than he or she is already. What matters is that we will employ the right military assets in the right places at the right time to deter future destabilizing acts.
And again, we will make use of the full range of possibilities we as an Alliance have, as I just mentioned, including remotely operated vehicles, and we will also employ the latest technology, including, as I mentioned in my statement, the drones.
Question – I would like to ask you if you believe that the recent cable-cutting incidents in the Baltic Sea had for a purpose to hinder the Baltic power decoupling plans, thank you.
[The Prime Minister of Estonia, Kristen Michal, responds]
[The President of Finland, Alexander Stubb, responds]