PREFACE/ISSUE
Exploring role of Denmark.
Was the Nordstream affair a strategic blunder or a calculated hit? If the perpetrator knew that they will be noticed, perhaps they just needed some time to "manage the event" politically? In that case all contacts between state actors must be examined. One of them sticks out. Danish Prime minister Mette Fredriksen has visited London shortly after the event to have behind closed doors talk with Liz Truss. She has called with other heads of states via secure calls and flew only to the UK. After that she visited EU and NATO HQs in Brussels.
It feels like a Déjà-vu
Battle of Copenhagen 1807 - post
The Big picture of whole Baltic Sea (EEZs)
According to UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea), coastal states have sovereign rights over their EEZs, which includes the exclusive right to authorize, regulate and control any activities related to the exploration, exploitation, conservation, and management of the natural resources within their EEZs.Therefore, any investigation within the EEZ must be carried out with the consent and cooperation of state which owns the EEZ. Failure to seek consent may result in a violation of state B's sovereignty and may be considered a breach of international law.
II. The BALTOPS was most likely NOT the right time to plant explosives
14 June 2022 - BALTOPS 22: A Perfect Opportunity for Research and Resting New Technology
Experimentation was conducted off the coast of Bornholm, Denmark, with participants from Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific, Naval Undersea Warfare Center Newport, and Mine Warfare Readiness and Effectiveness Measuring all under the direction of U.S. 6th Fleet Task Force 68.
11 July - 21 July 2022 Nordstream yearly checkup/maintenance works
[M: This post explores why BALTOPS was not the good time to plant explosives.]
21 Sept 2022 - UK Prime Minister Truss addresses
the United Nations General Assembly
01:00 min: "...Geopolitics is entering a new era.."06:00 min: "We are cutting off the toxic power and pipelines from authoritarian regimes and strengthening our energy resilience.""We will ensure we cannot be coerced or harmed by the reckless actions of rogue actors abroad.""The free world needs this economic strength and resilience to push back against authoritarian aggression and win this new era of strategic competition.
We must do this together."
We are fortifying our deep security alliances in Europe and beyond through NATO and the Joint Expeditionary Force.
08:30 min: "The UK is providing funding, using the might of the City of London and our security capabilities to provide better alternatives to those offered by malign regimes.The resolute international response to Ukraine has shown how we can deliver decisive collective action.The response has been built on partnerships and alliances and also on being prepared to use new instruments – unprecedented sanctions, diplomatic action, and rapid military support.There has been a strength of collective purpose – we have met many times, spoken many times on the phone, we have made things happen.Now we must use these instruments in a more systematic way to push back on the economic aggression of authoritarian regimes.The G7 and our like-minded partners should act as an economic NATO, collectively defending our prosperity.If the economy of a partner is being targeted by an aggressive regime we should act to support them. All for one and one for all.
12:00 min "In all these areas, on all of the fronts, the time to act is now. This is a decisive moment in our history, in the history of this organization and in the history of freedom...
The story of 2022 could have been that of an authoritarian state rolling its tanks over the border of a peaceful neighbour and subjugating its people.
Instead, it is the story of freedom fighting back.
In the face of rising aggression we have shown we have the power to act and the resolve to see it through.
But this cannot be a one-off.
This must be a new era in which we commit to ourselves, our citizens, and this institution that we will do whatever it takes – whatever it takes to deliver for our people and defend our values."
Britain’s commitment to this is total.
We will be a dynamic, reliable and trustworthy partner.
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EUS registered 2 tremors in the Baltic Sea
on the night of Monday 26 September at 02.03 & at 19.03,
both Danish summer time.
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III. Danish reactions to the attack in its Exclusive Economic Zone
26 Sept 2022 - "It is now the clear assessment by authorities that...
... these are deliberate actions.
It was not an accident,"
Mette Frederiksen told journalists.
27 Sept 2022 - DK announcement the following day
"Statsministeriet indkalder til doorstep foran glasdøren til Statsministeriet tirsdag den 27. september klokken 20.00 om situationen ved Nord Stream 1 og 2."
27 Sept 2022 - Denmark's Prime Minister on the gas leaks: - Talk about deliberate actions
Both Sweden's and Denmark's prime ministers believe the gas leaks are deliberate actions, but deny that it is an attack on the countries.
Not an act of war
The leaks occurred in international waters in what are Denmark and Sweden's exclusive economic zones. The first leak was detected on Monday, while the other two were discovered on Tuesday.
27 Sept 2022 - Visit to NATO by the Minister of Defence of the Kingdom of Denmark
On Wednesday, 28 September 2022, the NATO Secretary General, Mr. Jens Stoltenberg, will meet with the Minister of Defence of the Kingdom of Denmark, Mr. Morten Bødskov, at NATO Headquarters.
30 Sept 2022 - The Prime Minister of DK travels to London and Brussels to discuss the destruction on Nord Stream 1 and 2 (read link)
Translation: Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen will meet on Saturday 1 October with British Prime Minister Liz Truss in London and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and the President of the European Council Charles Michel in Brussels.
"The government views the damage to Nord Stream 1 and 2 with the utmost seriousness. It is about the entire infrastructure of Europe, but of course the seriousness is especially felt here, as the incidents happened in our immediate area. I am in close dialogue with our partners to discuss the situation and ensure close cooperation. Among other things, how we will better protect our European energy infrastructure going forward.”
The trips to London and Brussels follow talks with a number of heads of state and government, including a video conference with the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, the Norwegian Prime Minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, and the Swedish Prime Minister, Magdalena Andersson, who leads the Swedish transitional government.
31 Sept 2022 - UK Prime Minister Liz Truss meets with her Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen in London - video before meeting.
On energy security more widely, the Prime Minister and Prime Minister Frederiksen agreed on the need for likeminded democracies to work together to increase our energy independence.
The Prime Minister outlined the steps the UK has taken to decrease energy bills in the short-term and bolster our energy supply in the longer term. The leaders agreed to further UK-Danish cooperation in areas like wind power, where our countries are global pioneers.
31 Sept 2022 - Danish Premier Frederiksen: extremely worried about Nord Stream sabotage quote... video after meeting.
01 Oct 2022 - Nord Stream pipeline blasts ‘clearly an act of sabotage’, says Truss
A series of explosions which caused major damage to Russia’s undersea Nord Stream gas pipelines were “clearly an act of sabotage”, Liz Truss has said.
However, in a speech on Friday, the Russian leader claimed “Anglo Saxons” were responsible for the “terror attacks”, which he described as an attempt to “destroy the European energy infrastructure”.
Following Ms Truss’s meeting with Ms Frederiksen, a No 10 spokesman said: “The leaders stressed the need to stay united in the face of Russia’s despicable action in Ukraine.
“They agreed the incidents were clearly an act of sabotage. The Prime Minister offered the UK’s support for the ongoing investigation.”
Speaking to reporters outside No 10, Ms Frederiksen said: “One of the reasons why I’m here today is because of the situation in the Baltic Sea, with Nord Stream 1 and 2.
“I was able to give some details about what has happened in Denmark, or just outside Denmark.
“This is sabotage and it is critical infrastructure. So of course, this is a very serious situation.”
31 Oct 2022 - Mette Frederiksen meets Charles Michel on 01 October 2022.Seems there were some changes in planning and the meeting was day postponed.
VI. From Brussels to Brussels - meeting with Charles Michel, EU
1 Oct 2022 - NATO chief meets Danish PM to address Nord Stream 'sabotage'
VII. Things can happen that we have not had the imagination to imagine
01 Oct 2022 - Metter Frederiksen "Things can happen that we have not had the imagination to imagine"
We are vulnerable, we are worried, and we are in very, very close dialogue with our allies. No country can handle this task alone, says Mette Frederiksen... I listen a lot to what Putin says. Both in his speech yesterday, but also on other occasions. And I notice that it is said directly from Putin's side that several different weapons and methods may be used.
1 Oct 2022 - For the European Political Community, meeting is the message
European Union leaders will discuss the security of crucial infrastructure when they meet in Prague next week following damage to the Nord Stream pipelines that many in the West have said was caused by sabotage.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was tied up with a crucial parliamentary debate at home, bringing the number of leaders down to 43 from the originally envisaged 44.
1 Oct 2022 - Hectic Danish diplomacy
Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen once again states that this is sabotage. She visited both London and Brussels on Saturday to talk about the situation in the Baltic Sea.
Frederiksen has discussed the matter with both French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Liz Truss. In Brussels, she met NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Saturday.
We have worked overtime internationally and diplomatically. I have spoken with Olaf Scholz twice, several times with Sweden's Prime Minister, European leaders and today I am in Downing Street, said Frederiksen in London, and continued:
This is not just a matter for Denmark and Sweden. This is something that is of interest to NATO, the EU and among our allies. That is why I am of course happy about the clear support from both NATO, the EU and today from the UK.
Next week, EU leaders will meet to discuss security around important infrastructure in the union, reports Reuters.
3 Oct 2022 - Danish foreign ministry releases ‘bleak’ 2035 strategic analysis
“This is a new security policy reality, where you not only have to see what the eye can see but also have an incredibly well-developed imagination to imagine all kinds of things,” Frederiksen said.
VIII. There seems to be an evidence nobody speaks about
29 Sept 2022 - Torben Ørting Jørgensen, a former admiral with the Danish navy,... told The Associated Press that it was "not so demanding" to carry out an operation either by using a remotely operated underwater vehicle or sending divers from a submarine or a surface vessel.
3 Oct 2022 - "The person responsible for the Nord Stream gas pipeline leaks is unlikely to ever be held accountable", Vice Admiral Jan Christian Kaack, Commander of the German Navy, told Monday's "Aktuaalne kaamera".
"The basis for seeing possible events is a clear picture of the sea, or observation. If there is a clear picture of the air, surface or subsurface — almost clear, because you cannot always be completely sure — then you can look at anomalies in the system and then you can bring a special unit to the area where the anomaly was detected," Kaack said.
4 Oct 2022 - Nordic Countries’ Response To Nord Stream Sabotage
The submarine rescue vessel HMS Belos was dispatched to the Nord Stream leaks sites.Danish vessels deployed to the site of the leakages include environmental protection ship HDMS Gunnar Thorson as well as the frigate HDMS Absalon.
5 Oct 2022 - US considering offering to analyse underwater audio recordings to aid Nord Stream pipeline sabotage investigations
The US Navy’s processing of the sonar signatures – the term for the unique underwater sounds – provided by Sweden and Denmark could boost the investigations by providing a more detailed picture of what was in the area at the time of the pipeline explosions and what caused them, sources said...Each type of underwater machinery like submarines, torpedoes and vessel engines makes a unique sound that is called a “sonar signature,” and the US has an extensive library of these sounds.6 Oct 2022 - The support at the gas line ended.
On October 6, the Armed Forces' support to the Coast Guard at the gas pipeline was suspended. This when the on-site investigation was deemed complete by the authorities that led it and the request for support was thereby withdrawn. The SWE HSwMS Belos returns to other activities.
VIII. The blame game? A naval blockade of Russia in Baltic Sea?
7 Oct 2022 - Fears Russia has planted mines on UK’s internet and power cables after ‘Putin ordered gas pipeline attack’
A government told the Daily Mail the Danish probe is being carefully watched to see if it will point the finger at Russia and Vladimir Putin.
IX. The DK blind spot - submarine vulnerability
19 Oct 2022 - The bottom of the sea is the Danish Defence’s blind spot: 4 possible surveillance technologiesJohannes Kidmose does not consider it improbable that an enemy vessel would be able to sabotage a submarine cable, internet cable, or gas pipeline on the bottom of the sea in Danish waters without anyone discovering it before the damage has been done.Danish frigates have no sonars on board and are thus blind to what is happening down in the depths of the sea.
CONCLUSION/SUMMARY:
- Denmark KNOWS who is the saboteur.
- Denmark has EVIDENCE
- Mette Frederiksen provides some data to UK and jointly define the act as "sabotage" after the meeting with Liz Truss
- "That" country representatives WERE at the Prague summit which Liz Truss refused to go to.
Because the truth matters.
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