The ship's crew will have the right to usage their weapons in the event of a threat to critical infrastructure, and the pilot of the combat aircraft after losing communication with the on-call Air Defence Commander will be able to decide for himself to shoot down the rocket – these are only any of the assumptions prepared by the MON of the "Safe Baltic" bill.
Naval exercises of the Polish Navy "Fearless Shark '25". Illustration picture.
The task just went through the law board. The next phase must be approved by the Standing Committee of the Council of Ministers. Then the government will bow over it, and after accepting the cabinet the paper will go to the Sejm. This should be the 3rd 4th of this year.
Meanwhile, on the website of the Government Legislative Centre you can already read the details of the bill. It assumes the extension of naval and air force powers, and the change is intended to lead to a higher level of safety in the Baltic. And so 1 of the planned records says that the Navy will gain the right to conduct permanent operations outside the territorial waters of the Republic. In particular, it concerns areas of the Polish economical zone. This is simply a region where Poland is entitled to exploit natural deposits according to global regulations. There is besides a immense part of the home critical infrastructure – from drilling platforms to underwater pipelines. As the legislator points out, present Ships can operate freely there while exercisingtraining or rescue. Now this catalogue will be expanded, in the name of the right to self-defense of the country referred to in Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations.
But that is not the end. The bill besides assumes that crews of ships will be able to act actively in the event of a threat to this infrastructure. Its authors intend to give them even the right to usage weapons, although they emphasize – beginning fire is the ultimate. It must be preceded by a informing shot. The crew can only scope for weapons without informing if a ship or a border defender unit or police unit is fired on. The study of each specified event should be sent immediately to the operational commander of the types of armed forces and shall be required to forward applicable information to the Minister of National Defence.
According to the law, the Navy in Polish territorial waters is to be granted equal powers of Border Guard. This means that she will be able to halt and control suspicious individuals, force them to change course, and, if necessary, conduct pursuit activities, including those that go beyond the territory of the Republic. Pilots will besides gain greater freedom combat aircraft. In the event of a failure of communication with the on-call Air Defence Commander, they will be able to decide on their own to fire a rocket flying over the Polish territory.
Stanisław Sadkiewicz, maritime safety expert, at this phase does not want to mention to individual solutions. However, it acknowledges that legal adjustments are essential in the current situation. – Recent events, specified as the blowing up of the Nord Stream pipeline, the blocking of shipping routes in the Red Sea by the Hutich, or yet the usage of civilian units as launch platforms for drones that appeared over the Scandinavian cities, clearly show that we gotta face increasingly diverse hybrid threats at sea," he emphasises. "Acts below the war threshold force fundamental changes in the approach to maritime security. It is essential to make fresh legal instruments and procedures to counter hybrid forms of aggression at sea, while maintaining freedom of navigation – concluded Sadkiewicz.
