Denmark and Finland strengthened Nordic defense cooperation on Tuesday, signing a wide-ranging pact in Helsinki that deepens collaboration in Baltic Sea security, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO, training missions, and F-35fighter jet operations amid growing regional tensions.

Their memorandum of understanding, signed by Denmark's Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen and Finnish counterpart Antti Hakkanen, reflects an increasingly close partnership between the NATO allies.

European leaders have been considering options to boost defense spending after United States President Donald Trump began pressing NATO members to increase their military budgets.

With Trump signaling a potential shift away from Washington's backing of Ukraine in its conflict with Russia, European nations have been strengthening their diplomatic unity in supporting Kyiv, and the Nordic cooperation also signals a move toward regional self-reliance.

"We live in uncertain times," Poulsen said. "Nordic unity is crucial".

A joint statement said the pact builds on "shared values and mutual security interests", particularly significant after Finland's NATO accession in 2023 and Denmark's decision to join the European Union's security and defense cooperation agreement in 2022.

It commits both nations to joint F-35 fighter jet training, personnel exchanges, and coordinated military acquisitions, said the joint statement.

"Finns might handle tasks for us; we'll reciprocate," Poulsen noted, emphasizing unity in NATO's northern region.

He also called for a 2025 Nordic consensus on joint purchases of strategic defense hardware to maximize efficiency.

The agreement extends a 2021 trilateral framework with Norway and Sweden, and follows last week's decision to revive ammunition production at Denmark's Elling plant, through Norwegian-Finnish manufacturer Nammo by 2027, reported the Euractiv news website.

The pact comes amid rising Baltic Sea tensions, marked by infrastructure disruptions and concerns around potential cases of hybrid warfare.

A suspected sabotage attempt on the water supply of the Swedish island of Gotland last weekend, where a pump's power cable was deliberately cut, nearly created a crisis for the strategic Baltic island's 61,000 residents, said Euractiv.

The Finland-Denmark agreement follows a broader pattern of Nordic defense integration. Last week, Norway and Denmark announced plans to strengthen their bilateral defense cooperation, with concrete proposals expected in May, reported Reuters.

During their state visit to Finland this week, Denmark's King Frederik and Queen Mary also discussed NATO cooperation, crisis resilience, and green initiatives, the Finnish president's office said.