NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte announced on Tuesday a new mission, dubbed Baltic Sentry, to safeguard undersea cables in the Baltic Sea region.

While the risk of damage, deliberate or accidental, to energy and communications infrastructure under the Baltic Sea cannot be entirely eliminated, naval cooperation among the democratic states that surround the sea can help to enhance deterrence against attacks,

The Baltic Sea operation in the region bordering Russia comes as European fears of sabotage mount after a string of disruptions to underwater cables.

By Anne Kauranen, Essi Lehto and Andreas Rinke HELSINKI (Reuters) -NATO countries will deploy frigates, patrol aircraft and naval drones in the Baltic Sea to help protect critical infrastructure and reserve the right to take action against ships suspected of posing a security threat,

The operation, dubbed "Baltic Sentry," will dispatch national contributions as well as joint assets to the strategically located body of water.

NATO announced a new mission on Tuesday to better protect critical underwater infrastructure in the Baltic Sea with significantly more ships, aircraft and drones, as concerns about Russian aggression in the region grow.

The NATO military alliance said Tuesday it would launch a Baltic Sea monitoring mission following the suspected sabotage of undersea cables in recent months.

The Swedish military will also contribute one of its ASC 890 surveillance aircraft, made by Saab, and the country's coast guard will deploy four ships.