Seven NATO countries and Sweden share the Baltic Sea with Russia. Can this go well? Even after Russia’s attack on Ukraine, there were largely no provocations. Chancellor Scholz hopes it stays that way. During a fleet visit, he gets an idea of the situation.
NATO and Russia will test their fleets in the Baltic Sea in parallel over the next two weeks. 50 ships and boats and 45 aircraft with 6,500 soldiers from 19 NATO countries and Sweden are involved in the “Baltops” maneuver led by the USA. The Russian Baltic Fleet announced that it would like to practice with 40 ships, 25 fighter jets and 3,500 soldiers at the same time. NATO was not officially informed beforehand.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) does not expect the situation between the two sides to escalate as a result of the maneuvers. “I have no such fear,” he said during a visit to the frigate “Mecklenburg-Vorpommern” off the German Baltic Sea coast near Rostock. “It is handled very responsibly by our forces.”
Nevertheless, the chancellor wants the NATO exercise to be understood as a signal of strength to Russia: “Of course, it is also a sign that we are starting with the maneuver, the exercise, namely that we have the strength to organize the defense of the alliance and the country . And that is what is understood.”
Scholz on the bridge of the “Mecklenburg-Vorpommern”
On Monday, Scholz got a comprehensive picture of the capabilities of the German Navy for the first time. To do this, he flew in a “Sea King” helicopter from the naval command in Rostock to the frigate “Mecklenburg-Vorpommern”, which at the time was almost 20 kilometers off the beaches of Mecklenburg’s Baltic Sea coast. From the command bridge he watched, among other things, how the submarine “U33” surfaced and the corvette “Oldenburg” escorted the frigate.
The French fleet tanker “Somme” and warships from Spain and Portugal also took part in the four-hour exercise, which was set up especially for the Chancellor. Air Force Eurofighter and Tornado fighter jets repeatedly thundered over the 140-meter-long warship with its crew of more than 200 soldiers.
Scholz was taken to a Bundeswehr mine-hunting boat in a rubber dinghy to learn about the protection of critical infrastructure on the seabed. The topic has become more explosive due to the still unsolved attack on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline off the Danish island of Bornholm.
Flagship of the NATO spearhead in the Baltic Sea
At the beginning of the year, Germany took over the leadership of the NATO Rapid Reaction Force, in which the Navy in the Baltic Sea is also involved. The “Mecklenburg-Vorpommern” is currently the flagship of the so-called spearhead of the military alliance, which is officially called the “Very High Readiness Joint Task Force”. The intervention force was set up in the course of the first major Ukraine crisis after 2014 and has since been a central element of the deterrence strategy against Russia.
After the exercise for the Chancellor, the “Mecklenburg-Vorpommern” continues eastwards, where it will take part in the “Baltops” maneuver in the next few days. Shortly before the chancellor’s naval visit, Russia announced that it would practice in the Baltic Sea until June 15 – about the same time as NATO is testing its fleet. “As part of the maneuver, tasks related to the defense of maritime communications and naval bases will be trained,” the Russian fleet said in a statement.
Since the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine a good 15 months ago, Moscow has repeatedly rehearsed the event of war in the Baltic Sea. Again and again there are problems between NATO and Russia over the Baltic Sea. Both sides accuse each other of violating their own airspace. The naval forces, on the other hand, have got along comparatively well so far.
Leave no room for misunderstandings
“The Baltic Sea is big enough. We are non-confrontational and very transparent,” says the commander of the naval forces of the NATO Rapid Reaction Force, Flotilla Admiral Thorsten Marx. “We adhere to international rules and norms. And we expect the same from the Russian side.” At the moment one sees “a visible effort on the Russian side not to leave room for misunderstandings”. But that doesn’t mean it has to be the same tomorrow. “That’s why this association is always ready for action and ready to defend itself,” emphasized Marx.
According to the admiral, NATO was not informed of the maneuver. Still, it wasn’t a surprise. “Of course, we have a very clear idea of what actions may lead to maneuver activities.” The observations of the past few weeks and months would have indicated that the maneuver was taking place.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
