London and Oslo are increasing military cooperation in the North Sea

Great Britain and Norway are stepping up their military cooperation to protect critical energy infrastructure in the North Sea. Given the attack on the Baltic Sea pipelines Nord Stream 1 and 2, the two NATO partners want to work more closely together to detect submarines or underwater mines. British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace and his Norwegian counterpart Bjorn Arild Gramm signed the deal, the two governments announced on Thursday. They previously increased their joint patrols.

“The attack on the Nord Stream pipeline led our forces to work together even more closely to identify and respond to underwater threats and further ensure the security of the North Atlantic,” Wallace said.

Great Britain and Norway both produce gas and oil and operate wind farms in the North Sea. Recently there were intelligence warnings as Russian ships turned into international waters far from the British and Norwegian coasts. “It is important that democracies like Britain and Norway stick together when the rules-based international order is under pressure,” Gram said.