Germany on Monday inaugurated a new NATO naval command center to boost defense readiness in the Baltic Sea region, Report informs via AFP.
Led by Germany, the Commander Task Force Baltic will be "ready to direct naval operations in times of peace, crisis and war", said Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.
"The relevance of the region has become even more evident against the backdrop of the ongoing Russian aggression in our immediate neighborhood," Pistorius told a ceremony for the new hub.
The center in the port city of Rostock will be led by a German admiral and manned by staff from 11 other NATO countries, namely the United Kingdom, Denmark, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Finland, France, Sweden, and Estonia.
It will aim to "coordinate naval activities in the region" and provide NATO with a "maritime situation picture in the Baltic Sea region around the clock", according to the German defense forces.