OREANDA-NEWS  NATO expects to create a force of unmanned naval vehicles to ensure the protection of underwater infrastructure, Supreme Commander-in-Chief for the transformation of the alliance forces Pierre Vandier said in an interview with the Defense News portal.

According to Vandier, his team is currently at the initial stage of the project.

The portal notes that the purpose of this initiative is to "help protect the extremely important underwater infrastructure in the Baltic and Mediterranean Seas."

In mid-November, two submarine communication cables between Finland and Germany and between Lithuania and Sweden were damaged in the Baltic Sea. The cables were repaired and started working again on November 28.

The crew of the Chinese vessel Yi Peng 3, which was in Swedish waters at the time and could damage the cables with its anchor, is suspected to be responsible for the incidents. The cargo ship is currently standing in the Kattegat Strait between Sweden and Denmark.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said it was ready to cooperate in the investigation aimed at finding out the causes of damage to two cables in the Baltic Sea.