Latvia's prime minister says her government has reached out to Sweden and other Baltic Sea allies in NATO for assistance as it investigates the cause of damage to an underwater fiber-optic data cable running to Sweden.

Earlier this month, NATO began a new mission dubbed "Baltic Sentry" which included frigates, maritime patrol aircraft and a fleet of naval drones to provide "enhanced surveillance and deterrence" in the Baltic Sea which the transatlantic alliance says is to protect undersea cables and pipelines.

Direct challenges to Baltic security include regional aggression waged by Russia and policies of Belarus complementing the aims of Moscow. The conventional warfare in countries across the border from the Eastern Flank of NATO and the EU is aggravated by civilian displacement and migration from Ukraine and the Middle East.

Sweden on Sunday said it had seized a ship suspected of having damaged a fibre-optic cable under the Baltic Sea linking the country to Latvia, which sent a warship to investigate the latest apparent act of sabotage.

Sweden is investigating damage to a data cable linked to Latvia, the latest breach in the Baltic Sea region where European authorities are on high alert.

The Nordic country has opened an investigation into the damage, just weeks after NATO stepped up its military presence in the area following a series of similar incidents.

RIGA, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- A submarine fiber optic cable of the Latvian State Radio and Television Centre in the Baltic Sea was damaged early on Sunday morning, according to Latvian public broadcaster LSM.

RIGA, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- An underwater fiber optic cable connecting Latvia and the Swedish island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea was damaged early on Sunday, the cable's owner, SJSC Latvian State Radio and Television Center (LVRTC), informed.

After a series of suspected undersea cable cuttings, NATO has launched a new surveillance and deterrence mission to protect critical infrastructure under the Baltic Sea.

Swedish prosecutors have launched an investigation into suspected sabotage of a fiber optic cable connecting Latvia and Gotland. Authorities have detained a vessel in the Baltic Sea. The incident has heightened concerns over potential Russian interference in the region,

RIGA - NATO needs to strengthen its presence in the Baltic Sea and tackle Russia's "shadow fleet", President Edgars Rinkevics said Tuesday while participating in the Baltic Sea NATO allies summit in Helsinki, Finland.

Sweden said Sunday that it seized a vessel suspected of damaging a fiber-optic cable under the Baltic Sea that links the country to Latvia, in what authorities are investigating as an act of "aggravated sabotage.