Suspicious ship movements spark Baltic cable controversy
Two undersea cables have been damaged in the Baltic Sea. The Finnish newspaper "Iltalehti" points to the Chinese ship Yi Peng 3, which made suspicious movements near the site of the damage. The Danish fleet is monitoring the vessel.
4:14 PM EST, November 19, 2024
The Telia corporation reported on Monday that a submarine telecommunications cable running along the Baltic Sea floor between Lithuania and Sweden has been damaged. 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 accidentally cut. I also don't want to believe that it was anchors that accidentally caused the cable damage, said Pistorius before a meeting with EU defense ministers in Brussels, as quoted by Reuters.
Chinese ship under scrutiny
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.
Finland on activating Article 5
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 defense (the alliance clause).
"If it turns out that a single state entity is behind multiple attacks, it is, of course, a matter of foreign policy and security," argued Valtonen, emphasizing that the recent cable damage 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.
— It's not only military attacks that are taken seriously. If this is a deliberate action, we take it as an attack on a free, democratic society, she said, reminding that at NATO meetings in the summer, it was decided that Article 5 can also be applied to hybrid actions.
Source: WP/PAP/Onet/Iltalehti
