VILNIUS: Tensions between Lithuania and Belarus have escalated after meteorological balloons from Belarus forced Lithuania to repeatedly shut down its main airport in the past weeks, leaving thousands of people stranded.
While the balloons are used to smuggle cigarettes into Lithuania, officials in Vilnius see their numbers and trajectories as deliberate acts of disruption orchestrated by Belarus, a close Russian ally, as Europe remains on high alert after drone intrusions into NATO’s airspace reached an unprecedented scale in September and the Russian invasion of Ukraine nears its fourth year.
‘A cynical hybrid attack’
In the most recent incident, operations at Vilnius airport were suspended for 11 hours on Saturday night. Lithuanian authorities said at least 60 balloons were flown from the woods in Belarus, 40 of them reaching areas critical for aviation safety and making it one of the most serious incidents to date. Lithuanian aviation authorities said the balloons appeared to be sent at regular time intervals and directed at the runways.
“This is a cynical hybrid attack against our economy, aviation security, and the entire nation,” Taurimas Valys, Lithuania’s deputy minister of foreign affairs, said about the incident.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko had previously said that Belarus would apologize if its involvement was established.
On Monday, Minsk pointed a finger at Lithuania for allegedly sending a drone into the country’s airspace, claiming it was to be used for espionage and the delivery of “extremist materials.”
The Belarusian Foreign Ministry on Monday summoned Lithuania’s chargé d’affaires, Erikas Vilkanecas, and demanded an explanation and a probe into the incident.
“The Republic of Belarus reserves the right to take all necessary measures to protect its sovereignty and security, based on the current situation,” the ministry said in a statement Monday.
Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė said Tuesday she had received no information suggesting that Lithuania was involved in the incident, according to the BNS news agency.
High tensions
In October, Lithuania closed its borders with Belarus after balloons repeatedly disrupted activity at the Vilnius airport.
In retaliation, Minsk prevented over 1,000 Lithuanian cargo trucks from exiting Belarus. Those trucks remain in Belarus, although the Lithuanian government gave in to pressure from the national logistics companies and reopened the border less than three weeks after it was shuttered.
Since then, Lithuanian authorities have noted that the number of balloons flying in has continued to rise.
“If necessary, we will close the border, but please understand that we must coordinate every action with our strategic partners,” Ruginienė said on Tuesday.
An attempt at a solution
Lithuanian authorities offered 1 million euros to projects that could help defend against the disruption.
IT Logika, one of the beneficiaries, plans to develop an Intelligent Airspace Security System (IOEAS) to detect and identify targets at any time of the day, as well as a high-power laser to safely shoot down multiple balloons during the same flight. Object trajectory prediction and recognition would be performed using artificial intelligence algorithms. Real-time information would be provided from drone base stations, radars and other geographically distributed sensors.
Other planned measures include new harsh punishments for any activities that might be linked to cigarette smuggling and changing flight schedules.
“We are considering the possibility of moving night flights to other airports like Kaunas,” Ignas Algirdas Dobrovolskas, an adviser to the prime minister, said. “We are now focusing on how to actually help people and businesses,” he added.
Belarus weather balloons force repeated closures of Lithuania’s main airport
https://arab.news/ryjdr
Belarus weather balloons force repeated closures of Lithuania’s main airport
- Lithuanian authorities said at least 60 balloons were flown from the woods in Belarus
- “This is a cynical hybrid attack against our economy, aviation security, and the entire nation,” Valys said
Philippines discovers new gas deposit to boost depleted reserves
- Source near Malampaya field believed to contain 2.8 billion cubic meters of gas
- It will not take much time to access the gas, expert says, as infrastructure is ready
MANILA: The Philippines on Monday announced a new natural gas discovery, with the reservoir near the country’s largest offshore site estimated to be enough to power about 5.7 million households per year.
About 2.8 billion cubic meters (98 billion cubic feet) of gas were found 5km east of the Malampaya field near the island of Palawan, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said in a Facebook video.
“This is equivalent to nearly 14 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity per year. That means it could supply power to more than 5.7 million households, 9,500 buildings, or nearly 200,000 schools,” Marcos said.
“This helps Malampaya’s contribution and strengthens our domestic gas supply for many years to come. Initial testing showed that the well flowed at 60 million cubic feet (1.7 million cubic meters) per day.”
Malampaya, discovered in 1989 and operational since 2001, is the Philippines’ most important natural gas field, located off the west coast of Palawan Island. It is also a key part of the country’s energy infrastructure.
It supplies natural gas for electricity generation in Luzon, the main island of the Philippines, powering several major plants.
Prime Energy Resources Development, which manages the Malampaya project, said in a statement that the new reservoir, Malampaya East-1, was discovered by a “a fully Filipino-led team, reflecting the country’s growing capability in upstream energy development.”
Prime Energy’s well data indicate that Malampaya East-1 volumes are equivalent to about one-third of the remaining producible gas volumes at the original Malampaya.
Against the backdrop of Malampaya’s decline, it will help to secure the country’s gas supplies. It will also keep operational the expensive infrastructure that was installed to operate the legacy field.
“The original Malampaya was like 2.3 trillion cubic feet, so it’s like 4 percent of the original find. I still think that is significant in light of the decline of the Malampaya gas field,” said Alberto Dalusung III, energy transition adviser at the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities.
The new gas discovery benefits from ready access to processing facilities such as the 504 km undersea pipeline that was built for Malampaya, which will make it available sooner.
Dalusung estimated it would take up to two years for Filipino consumers to benefit from the new resources.
“The infrastructure is already there,” he said. “You don’t have to build the pipeline. All you have to do is find new gas resources, which we did.”
