Baltic Sea countries increase their defenses

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, April 29 (UPI) -- Countries surrounding the Baltic Sea are reconsidering their security arrangements, with a militarization of the area not seen since the Cold War.

The tiny island of Gotland, off the Swedish coast, will have a permanent force of at least 150 soldiers to replace the occasional National Guard maneuvers in the past, Sweden announced. Poland is purchasing additional helicopters, navy vessels and coastal security systems, and Finland, earlier this week, dropped depth charges to scare off what it believes to be a mysterious submarine in waters near Helsinki.

The buildup is a reaction to Russian occupation of Crimea and involvement in Ukraine, as well as its regular insistence it will defend what it regards as its minority population in Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia, each a former Soviet republic and now a NATO member since 2004. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute noted seven of the nine countries bordering the Baltic Sea will increase its defense spending, while the other two are considering it.

The number of air interceptions of Russian aircraft in European airspace has been rising as well, believed to be a test of Western capability to interfere with Russian shipment of oil through the Baltic Sea. The Scandinavian countries are engaging in joint training exercises, with U.S. aircraft deployed to Estonia and more exercises and intelligence sharing are planned. Russia has done little to defuse anxieties or reduce the tension. Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a documentary televised in Russia last weekend, said he viewed former Soviet republics as territories to which freedom was granted by Russia and not as sovereign nations with opportunities for self-determination.