A Royal Navy frigate has been deployed to the North Sea following suspected 'sabotage' from Russia on the Nord Stream pipelines.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is said to be hoping to reassure partners by working with the Norwegian navy after the network in the Nord Stream was damaged near waters in Denmark and Sweden last month.
The Kremlin was accused of attacking the Nord Stream pipelines beneath the Baltic Sea, sending methane gas spewing into the water.
It is reported that two major lines, designed to deliver gas from Russia to Germany, were damaged in four different places near Denmark's Bornholm Island, although Moscow have denied responsibility and blamed the United States for the leaks.
The JEF (Joint Expeditionary Force), which consists of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the UK, released a statement on Monday after meeting virtually to discuss the "blatant and irresponsible attacks against critical civilian infrastructure".
The statement continued: "The JEF condemns in the strongest terms the reckless sabotage in the Baltic Sea.
"It is discussing security responses, including increased maritime presence and Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance activities."
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, who was part of the virtual meeting, added: "In this period of heightened concern for all like-minded partner nations, it is right that we act with speed, agility and collective resolve to actively demonstrate our shared commitment to mutual security."
Meanwhile, Britain will also build a second Navy spy ship to protect undersea cables from Russian saboteurs, Mr Wallace announced during the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham on Sunday.
The ships will monitor suspicious activity close to vital links placed on the seabed connecting the UK to other countries. The fibre optic cables carry vast amounts of high speed data - and interfering with them could jeopardise internet connections, email traffic and bank transactions.
"This week we saw the mysterious damage inflicted to the Nord Stream pipeline, and it should remind us all of how fragile our economy and infrastructure is to such hybrid attacks," he said.
"Our intent is to protect them; our internet and energy are highly reliant on pipelines and cables.
" Russia makes no secret of its ability to target such infrastructure, and it’s for that reason I can announce we have recently committed to two specialist ships with the capability to keep our cables and pipelines safe."
