Latest news with #Kockx
MTV Lebanon
31-03-2025
- Politics
- MTV Lebanon
NATO finds no proof of Russia's involvement in destruction of cables in Baltic Sea
Investigations into the destruction of power cables in the Baltic Sea produced no evidence of Russia's involvement, The Wall Street Journal reports. "No proof has been found that Moscow ordered or orchestrated the destruction," the newspaper writes, citing officials familiar with the investigations. Meanwhile, Belgian Navy Commander Erik Kockx, who heads a group taking part in a NATO mission in the Baltic Sea, pointed out that it's hard to evaluate the practical effect of the bloc's increased presence in the region. "It's quite difficult to prove that our presence helps. It's hard to say that if we hadn't been there, something would have occurred," Kockx said. On January 14, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte announced the launch of Mission Baltic Sentry, aimed at protecting underwater infrastructure such as power and data cables. The mission involves frigates and maritime patrol aircraft from NATO member states. Its launch came in response to the damage done to a subsea cable connecting Finland and Estonia on December 25, 2024.
National News
31-03-2025
- Politics
- National News
NATO probe finds no proof Russia destroyed Baltic Sea cables
NNA - Investigations into the destruction of cables in the Baltic Sea have found no evidence of Russia's involvement, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. Citing officials familiar with the investigations, the newspaper stated that "no proof has been found that Moscow ordered or orchestrated the destruction." Meanwhile, Belgian Navy Commander Erik Kockx, who leads a group participating in a NATO mission in the Baltic Sea, acknowledged the difficulty in assessing the impact of the alliance's increased presence. "It's quite difficult to prove that our presence helps. It's hard to say that if we hadn't been there, something would have occurred," Kockx said. Mission Baltic Sentry On January 14, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte announced the launch of Mission Baltic Sentry, an initiative aimed at protecting underwater infrastructure, including power and data cables. The mission involves frigates and maritime patrol aircraft from NATO member states and was initiated in response to damage sustained by a subsea cable connecting Finland and Estonia on December 25, 2024. The incident has fueled speculation about potential sabotage, but investigators have yet to attribute responsibility for the attack. NATO officials have emphasized the importance of safeguarding critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea, given the strategic significance of the region. Submarine telecom cables destroyed In late November 2024, two submarine telecommunication cables, the BCS East-West Interlink and C-Lion1 fiber-optic cables, were disrupted in the Baltic Sea. The BCS East-West Interlink is a 218 km long submarine data communication cable that runs through the Baltic Sea, built in 1997. It connects Sventoji in Lithuania to Katthammarsvik on the east coast of the Swedish island of Gotland. From Gotland, another cable passes data to the Swedish mainland. The C-Lion1 is a submarine communications cable between Finland and Germany. The cable is owned and operated by Finnish telecommunications and IT services company Cinia Oy. It is the first direct communications cable between Finland and Central Europe and has been in operation since May 2016. European officials had claimed several of the incidents were sabotage allegedly linked to Russia's war in Ukraine, with the Kremlin dismissing this as "absurd" and "laughable". --- Al Mayadeen
NBC News
25-03-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
As Trump negotiates with Putin, NATO fights Russian sabotage of undersea cables
Lt. Cmdr. Sjoerd Knoop, captain of the Luymes, said dragging an anchor along the seabed was an obvious sign of suspicion as the crew searched for saboteurs. 'It's not normal behavior,' he said. Other possible warning signs include sudden changes of speed by the ships in the area around the undersea cables. Since the launch of Baltic Sentry in mid-January, there have been no clear examples of sabotage. But it's not clear what exactly the warships would do if they did come across an attack. NATO has no law enforcement powers and would likely have to rely on authorities in its member states to carry out arrests and prosecutions once the suspect ship passed through their territorial waters. 'NATO is here in the first place to deconflict and to deter, and we hope with our mere presence anybody who would think about inflicting damage to critical underwater infrastructure will think twice,' said Kockx. The number of ships involved in Baltic Sentry fluctuates — there were seven vessels involved while NBC News was observing the mission — but all are European. U.S. involvement is limited to reconnaissance aircraft and a small force of Marines equipped with drones deployed to an island off the coast of Finland. In that sense it appears to meet Trump's demand for a NATO alliance in which European states do more to protect themselves and rely less on the U.S. But what works for a relatively small-scale naval patrol may not be replicable for the defense of a continent, where European allies rely heavily on advanced American capabilities like anti-missile systems and midair refueling. Some Europeans fear that Trump's warm words for Putin and his criticism of NATO allies are signs that he is preparing to abandon the traditional U.S. role in Europe's security. 'It is clear that the Americans — or in any case, the Americans in this administration — do not care much about the fate of Europe,' said Friedrich Merz, the incoming chancellor of Germany, in a televised interview hours after his general election victory on Feb. 23. Pete Hegseth, the U.S. defense secretary, has said that while the Trump administration remains committed to NATO's core principle of collective defense it was shifting its focus from Europe to the Pacific. NATO naval officers interviewed by NBC News insisted that the political tensions between the U.S. and its European allies were not filtering down to the operational level. 'We are still NATO, we are one, and we are working together, absolutely,' said Kockx. At the stern of the Hinnøy, there were what appeared to be three small, bright orange submarines. Each was in fact a different type of underwater drone. They were designed for the ship's original purpose of finding and disarming naval mines. But they have also proved helpful in giving the crew a detailed look at the undersea cables they are tasked with protecting. One crew member laid an appreciative hand on a Pluto Plus 40, an Italian-made drone about two yards long equipped with several cameras. 'It's a very effective way to get eyes down at the sea bottom,' he said.
