The Danish navy said on November 20, 2024, that it was tracking a Chinese cargo ship in the Baltic Sea, a day after Finland and Sweden launched an investigation into the alleged sabotage of two severed undersea telecommunications cables.
Mikkel Berg Pedersen | Mikkel Berg Pedersen Richard Scanpix | Photo via Getty Images
Geopolitical tensions are simmering around the world as undersea cables in the Baltic Sea – critical infrastructure powering cross-border internet connections – are severed.
The cable cuts prompted warnings of “sabotage” and potential “hybrid” war against critical Western infrastructure as the ongoing war in Ukraine escalates.
CNBC explains everything you need to know about the undersea incident and why it could heighten geopolitical tensions around the world.
What happened?
Two undersea cables were severed in the Baltic Sea last week, raising suspicions that undersea communications systems could be the latest sabotage target against Western countries locked in a conflict with Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
One of the interrupted cables was C-Lion1, which connects Finland and Germany and is owned by Finnish state-owned IT company Cinia. The line is nearly 1,200 kilometers (730 miles) long and is the only direct link of its kind between Finland and Central Europe.
Data visualization map showing the C-Lion1 submarine cable connecting Finland and Germany.
CNBC chart uses data from Telegeography
Another damaged cable was the BCS East West Interlink connecting Lithuania and Sweden. The company’s owner, Arelion, told CNBC that data traffic that would have gone through the company has been rerouted to other alternatives. Data traffic flowing through the cable is carried by Telia Lithuania.
Arelion spokesman Martin Sjögren told CNBC via email: “A ship to repair the cable arrived on site a week ago and, weather permitting, the cable should be repaired in the next few days.”
Arelion could not yet comment on how the cable was damaged, he said, adding that Swedish police were investigating the incident.
But Andy Champagne, senior vice president and chief technology officer of Akamai Labs, said repairing submarine cables is not easy.
“While we are connected through a complex network of physical fiber optic cables on land, once we put into the ocean the topology becomes more challenging,” he told CNBC. “Installing subsea cables is really complex. And, when subsea cables When something goes wrong, fixing it is a big job.”
What is a submarine cable?
Submarine cables are large optical cables laid under the sea that transmit data such as web pages, emails and video calls between continents. they are The backbone network of the global Internet provides 99% of the world’s intercontinental data traffic.
Martin Lee, head of EMEA at Cisco Talos, told CNBC: “Submarine cables are part of critical national infrastructure and are used to carry telecommunications between countries and continents.”
“Their physical location exposes them to a number of natural threats, such as saltwater erosion and landslides, as well as man-made threats that may be accidental or malicious in nature due to fishing activities.”
Li said companies “need to understand the types of risks they face”. While a temporary slowdown in international traffic due to rerouting may not be a problem for some companies, others cannot afford the disruption.
“Businesses that rely on fast, instant connections, such as any that require video conferencing or transfer large amounts of data, are severely exposed to the consequences of cable outages.“ Li said.
Who is to blame?
The investigation is ongoing and authorities hope to identify the person responsible. So far, the attack has not been attributed to a single entity or country.
Finland’s Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Thursday that the country “remains in close contact with China.”
Authorities in several EU countries are Tracking Chinese Ships. On Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal reported that investigators suspect the ship’s crew deliberately cut the cable while dragging an anchor on the Baltic Sea floor.
CNBC could not independently verify the report. The Chinese Embassy in London had no immediate comment when contacted by CNBC.
Valtonen said the incident highlighted the need for EU countries to “pay more attention to the resilience of overall connectivity, which is very important for data (and) energy infrastructure”.
“If this was a deliberate attack, it would also have implications for foreign education policy,” she added.
Germany did not identify potential suspects but said it considered the cable cutting to be an act of “sabotage” and possibly “hybrid” warfare.
The foreign ministers of Finland and Germany said in a joint statement that the incident “immediately raised suspicions of vandalism”, adding that a “thorough investigation” was underway.
They added: “Our European security is threatened not only by Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, but also by hybrid warfare by malign actors. Protecting our common critical infrastructure is vital to our security and the resilience of our societies.” “
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