Germany plans to inaugurate a new naval tactical headquarters on the Baltic Sea, intended as a boost to NATO defensive readiness in the region, the Defence Ministry announced on Tuesday.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius will formally open the naval command centre in the German Baltic Sea port city of Rostock on Monday, according to the ministry.
Germany has the largest NATO navy in the Baltic Sea and, according to the ministry, assumed a regional leadership role on October 1.
The new Commander Task Force (CTF) Baltic headquarters will coordinate naval activities for all NATO allies in the Baltic Sea and maintain an overall picture of the maritime situation, according to the ministry.
The Baltic Sea is an important supply route for NATO and is of key economic importance for neighbouring allied countries.
NATO has also warned of systematic spying on infrastructure and other potential threats in the region by Russia, which has ports on the Baltic in the exclave of Kaliningrad and around the city of St Petersburg.
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has heightened fears of possible Russian aggression.
In 2017, NATO decided to adapt its command structure and set up permanent naval headquarters at the highest tactical level. The headquarters plan operations and military exercises and command naval forces in peacetime as well as in crises and war.
According to the ministry, the CTF Baltic in Rostock is led by a German admiral, while the position of deputy commander will initially be filled by a Polish admiral and that of chief of staff by a Swedish staff officer.
