Germany on Monday launched a new multinational naval tactical headquarters for the Baltic Sea in the northern coastal city of Rostock.
The Command Task Force (CTF) Baltic headquarters will coordinate naval activities for all Germany’s allies on the Baltic Sea.
‘Germany stands firmly by its commitments’ — Pistorius
Led by Germany, the CTF Baltic will be “ready to direct naval operations in times of peace, crisis and war,” said Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.
“Our message to our partners and to those who threaten our peace is simple: Germany stands firmly by its commitments,” said Pistorius during an address in Rostock.
“We are committed to ensuring the security of the Baltic region, the strength of NATO, and the defense of our shared values,” Pistorius added.
There is an existing command staff at the Rostock Naval Command, which already works together with various countries but will in the future perform additional tasks for NATO according to the German Ministry of Defense.
The center will be led by a German admiral and manned by staff from a dozen other NATO countries.
The tactical headquarters’ regional importance
The facility’s establishment underlines the importance of the Baltic Sea for NATO after relations with Russia worsened following the Ukraine war, with the Russian Baltic Fleet based near Kaliningrad.
Kaliningrad is a Russian exclave on the Baltic, isolated from the rest of mainland Russia and wedged between Poland and Lithuania.
Securing open sea routes through the Baltic has become increasingly vital to the alliance after it expanded eastward following the end of the Cold War.
The fall of the Iron Curtain saw former Warsaw Pact country Poland, and former Soviet states Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia join NATO.
More recently, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Nordic neighbors Finland and Sweden, have also joined NATO.
The strategic importance of the Baltic to NATO has changed since the end of the Cold War.
Previously, the alliance’s main role would have been to block the western entrance to the Baltic Sea and prevent the Soviet Union’s Baltic Fleet from reaching the North Sea. The intention was to stop Moscow’s warships from attacking US supply convoys crucial to Europe’s defense.
Since the accession of the Baltic states, NATO must ensure the sea routes remain open in case the narrow land corridor connecting them to Poland becomes blocked in any conflict with Russia.
Editor’s note: The original title of this article referred to the naval center in Rostock as a NATO headquarters. The Command Task Force Baltic is a German naval tactical headquarters with multinational participation.
kb,rc/wmr(Reuters, dpa)