EC Vice-President for Technological Sovereignty, Security and Democracy Henna Virkunnen believes that repeated damage to submarine cables in the Baltic Sea cannot be “just an accident.”
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“It can’t be an accident if it happens many times a year,” she said.
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On Tuesday, a summit of NATO countries in the Baltic region begins in Finland, the topic of the meeting will be security, including the issue of protecting underwater infrastructure, as well as increasing the presence of the alliance in the Baltic Sea.
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The topic of the meeting is expected to be the security of the Baltic Sea region in light of the recent damage to submarine cables. Summit participants will discuss NATO’s presence in the Baltic Sea and response to the threat posed by tankers, which, according to Western countries, are allegedly involved in transporting Russian energy resources.
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Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen has already announced that NATO will send two ships to the Baltic Sea to monitor infrastructure. Sweden’s premier later said his country would send three ships and one aircraft for maritime and air surveillance as part of the alliance’s mission. Broadcaster Yle, citing sources, indicated that NATO will use up to ten ships to monitor infrastructure in the Baltic.
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The summit is expected to issue a joint statement on increasing NATO’s presence in the Baltic Sea and developing surveillance technologies that will be used to track “suspicious” vessels. In addition, as Finnish media write, the statement will spell out aspects of international law within the framework of which countries will be able to monitor the Baltic Sea and prevent the passage of “suspicious” ships.
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Cable damage incidents in the Baltic Sea occurred in November and December 2024. In November, the C-Lion1 telecommunications cable between Finland and Germany and the communications cable between Sweden and Lithuania were cut. Then the authorities suspected the Chinese cargo ship Yi Peng 3 of the incident.
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In December, the EstLink 2 power cable between Finland and Estonia was damaged, along with four other communication cables connecting Finland with Estonia and Germany. Law enforcement officials suspect that the Cook Islands-flagged vessel Eagle S damaged cables in the Gulf of Finland with an anchor, while Finnish customs claims without evidence that the Eagle S vessel is allegedly involved in the transportation of Russian energy resources.
