Baltic Sea cable sabotage: Chinese vessel under investigation

A submarine telecommunications cable running along the Baltic Sea floor between Lithuania and Sweden has been damaged, the Telia corporation reported on Monday. On the same day, the Finnish company Cinia announced the breakage of a similar cable connecting Helsinki with Rostock, Germany.

- No one believes that these cables were cut accidentally. We also have to assume, without knowing it yet, that it is sabotage" - said Pistorius before a meeting with EU defence ministers in Brussels, as quoted by Reuters.

The Finnish newspaper "Iltalehti" reports that the Chinese bulk carrier Yi Peng 3 was near the site of the damage. The ship reported a tracking system failure and altered its course at the cable intersection site. Danish ships, including the frigate HDMS Niels Juel, are monitoring the vessel.

The Chinese ship Yi Peng 3, which previously stopped at the port of Ust-Luga in Russia, is currently being monitored by the Danish fleet. On Sunday, it reported a tracking system failure, and on Monday, it changed its course at the cable intersection site, raising suspicions.

A Finnish politician suggested that if a "state actor" is behind the damage to the Baltic Sea undersea telecommunications cables, detected on Monday, it could lead to the activation of NATO Article 5, regarding collective defence (the alliance clause).

"Safeguarding our shared critical infrastructure is vital to our security and the resilience of our societies" argued Valtonen, emphasising that the recent cable damages between Finland and Germany, as well as between Lithuania and Sweden, running on the Baltic Sea floor, are under investigation, and there will be no "speculation" on the matter.

Valtonen also reminded that at NATO meetings in the summer, it was decided that Article 5 can also be applied to hybrid actions.