Telia Lietuva has announced repairs to a major subsea cable that runs between Lithuania and Sweden in the Baltic Sea.
The fault was first detected on 17 November, affecting one of three critical communications links between Sweden and Lithuania. On the same day, another cable connecting Helsinki, Finland, and Rostock, Germany, was also cut.
Preliminary investigations have raised suspicions of deliberate interference involving a Chinese-flagged vessel that departed from the Russian port of Ust-Luga. Authorities believe the ship, identified as Yi Peng 3, may have severed the undersea cables by dragging its anchor.
Sweden has formally requested China’s cooperation in a full investigation into the damage.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said at a press conference: “Sweden has also sent a formal request to China to cooperate with Swedish authorities in order to create clarity on what has happened.”
The Swedish government has also proposed that the Chinese vessel, which is currently surrounded by Danish and German ships in international waters, return to Swedish jurisdiction to assist with inquiries.
Both the Sweden–Lithuania and Germany–Finland cables were cut in Swedish waters in the Baltic Sea last week. The incidents have prompted allegations of sabotage and drawn attention to the Yi Peng 3’s movements.
In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of Finland and Germany expressed “deep concern” over the damaged links connecting their countries.
While the statement did not name China specifically, it warned that “European security is not only under threat from Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, but also from hybrid warfare by malicious actors.”
A similar event occurred last year when the vessel Newnew Polar Bear damaged a gas pipeline and a data cable between Sweden and Estonia.
As investigations continue, the suspected attacks have underscored how vulnerable subsea infrastructure is and highlighted the importance of protecting these essential communications routes.
(Photo by Marek Rucinski)
See also: Denmark suffers major telecoms service outage
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