Undersea cable breaks unexpectedly, Germany and Finland warn of 'hybrid war'

Germany and Finland are investigating deliberate sabotage after two submarine cables under the Baltic Sea were severed.

The C-Lion telecommunications cable is laid on the bottom of the Baltic Sea, off the coast of Helsinki, Finland in 2015 - Photo: yle.fi/Heikki Saukkomaa/Lehtikuva

According to AFP and Reuters, Finnish telecommunications and cybersecurity company Cinia announced that the 1,200km long cable connecting Helsinki (Finland) with the port of Rostock (Germany) stopped operating on November 18 (local time).

A fault was detected in the C-Lion1 submarine cable, causing all services provided by this cable to stop working.

“It is not possible to assess the reason for the cable break at this time, but such cable breaks are unlikely to occur in this area of the sea without external influence,” a company spokesperson noted.

Repairs could take between five and 15 days, said Cinia CEO Ari-Jussi Knaapila.

In a joint statement, Finland and Germany stressed that they were "very concerned about the broken submarine cable" and "are investigating an incident that raises immediate suspicions of deliberate sabotage".

At the same time, the two countries expressed concerns about Europe's security, warning of the threat of "hybrid war" (ie a combination of military and non- military measures), but did not specifically name the "suspect".

Located in Northern Europe, the Baltic Sea is a busy commercial shipping route and is surrounded by nine countries.

Previously on November 17, the 218km long cable between Lithuania and the Swedish island of Goatland also suffered a breakdown.

Last year, a gas pipeline and several submarine cables under the Baltic Sea were also seriously damaged.

In the 2023 incidents, Finnish and Estonian investigators determined that a Chinese container ship had dragged its anchor, causing damage, although it was not yet clear whether it was accidental or intentional.

The most notable incident that occurred in 2022 was the explosion of the Nord Stream gas pipeline between Russia and Germany.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/cap-ngam-bi-dut-bat-thuong-duc-va-phan-lan-canh-bao-chien-tranh-hon-hop-20241119142554861.htm