Estonia to allow military to destroy suspicious vessels: Details
Illustrative photo: Estonia will allow the military to destroy suspicious vessels (Getty Images)
The Estonian parliament wants to allow the Defense Forces and the Navy to use military force against merchant ships. However, there is a caveat, according to ERR.
According to the agency, the authorization to use military force can be applied to merchant ships suspected of intending to damage submarine cables and other infrastructure facilities. The Estonian parliament will consider the relevant bill at a meeting on April 9.
The agency says, as a last resort, the military will have the right to sink a suspicious vessel that does not obey their orders.
The purpose of these changes is to allow the military to prevent incidents such as foreign merchant ships deliberately cutting off marine cables and damaging other infrastructure. The number of such cases has recently increased.
At the same time, the chairman of the Defense Commission, Kalev Stoicescu, said that the adoption of the law and the sinking of the ship is an emergency measure that will be used only in very extreme conditions, when it is necessary to save many people to prevent a disaster.
Former Navy Commander Jüri Saska said if the Navy and Defense Forces apply this law, they must have both diplomatic justification and appropriate means, i.e., ships, weapons, as well as legislative and diplomatic support.
Damage to submarine cables
In November last year, a Finnish submarine cable directly connecting Finland to Central Europe was severed. At the same time, another damaged submarine communication cable was discovered in the Baltic Sea between Lithuania and Sweden.
And last December, it became known that the Estlink 2 submarine power cable connecting Finland and Estonia had been damaged.
Investigations revealed that merchant ships had been spotted near the cables on the eve of the breakdowns. In particular, the Eagle S vessel from the shadow fleet of Russia's tankers was detained. According to the investigation, the ship's crew planned to damage another Estlink 1 energy cable, as well as the BalticConnector gas pipeline.
Against the backdrop of these events, European countries with access to the Baltic Sea decided to strengthen their defense there. And Lithuania announced the need to immediately revise shipping regulations and fight against shadow fleets.
