Estonia authorises the army to sink suspicious ships

Faced with the Russian threat, the Estonian parliament wants to authorise the defence forces and navy to use military force against merchant ships.

The authorisation to use military force can be applied to merchant ships suspected of intending to damage undersea cables and other infrastructure. The Estonian parliament will consider the corresponding bill at a meeting on 9 April.

The military will have the right to sink a suspicious ship that doesn't comply with their orders.

The aim of these changes is to allow the military to prevent incidents such as foreign merchant ships deliberately cutting sea cables and damaging other infrastructure. The number of such cases has recently increased.

The President of the Estonian Defence Committee, Kalev Stoicescu, stated that the adoption of the law and the sinking of the ship are emergency measures that will only be used in very extreme conditions, when it's necessary to save a large number of people to avoid a disaster.

(MH with AmBar - Source: Agency - Photo: © Unsplash)