Alien Submarines in Swedish Waters: The Method of Counting as a Political Instrument

Abstract

Salicath, Carl P. Alien Submarines in Swedish Waters: The Method of Counting as a Political Instrument. Cooperation and Conflict, XXII, 1987, 49-55.

Swedish waters have been violated by alien submarines since the beginning of the seventies. After the U-137 incident in 1981, the number of submarine observations rose remarkably. Since 1983, however, the official registration of alien submarines discovered in Swedish waters has become increasingly obscure. The author argues that this registration and the general occurrence of alien submarines has been played down by the Swedish government. It is further argued that this has been done with the aim of providing Sweden with a political instrument in its relations towards the Soviet Union, in order to reduce the submarine incursions themselves, or what can be interpreted as Soviet political pressure on Sweden, in which the submarine incursions are merely a symptom.