Two undersea internet cables were severed in the span of 24 hours earlier this week – and European governments suspect a Chinese vessel is responsible.
On Sunday, a submarine cable linking Lithuania and Sweden stopped operating due to a reported cut in the line. The next day, a separate cable linking Finland and Germany was also reported severed.
Governments in Sweden, Finland, and Germany immediately began investigating the incident. The foreign ministers of Finland and Germany issued a joint statement saying they “are deeply concerned about the severed undersea cable,” noting “suspicions of intentional damage.”
Germany’s defense minister, Boris Pistorius, went farther, telling reporters, “Nobody believes these cables were accidentally cut. We have to assume, without knowing for sure yet, that this was an act of sabotage.”
Now European governments have centered on a Chinese-flagged vessel as the culprit. A cargo carrier, Yi Peng 3, was in the vicinity of both cables at the time that they were damaged. NPR reported that “ship tracking data shows the Yi Peng 3 had slowed down to a stop drifting in the general area over both undersea cables, in one case for more than an hour.”
Adding to the suspicion, the ship – though Chinese-flagged – had departed from a Russian port on the Baltic Sea immediately before crossing over the undersea cables. NATO officials have previously warned that Russia might try to damage European communications infrastructure as a form of “hybrid warfare” amid the Russia-Ukraine war.
As of Thursday, the Yi Peng 3 was anchored in Danish waters. Denmark’s navy confirmed that it was monitoring the vessel. Media reports claim that the Danish navy has actually stopped and boarded the Yi Peng 3, and was holding it in place “waiting for officials from Sweden, Finland and Germany to arrive to question the crew.”
So far, China has not said much about the incident. When asked about it in a daily press briefing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said that China’s government “asks Chinese vessels to strictly abide by relevant laws and regulations.” He added that “We also attach great importance to protecting the safety and security of infrastructure,” but stressed that China expects the navigation rights of the Yi Peng 3 to be respected.
This is not the first time a Chinese vessel has been linked to damage to undersea cables in the Baltic. In October 2023, two submarine cables as well as an undersea gas pipeline linking Finland and Sweden were severed. The subsequent investigation found that the damage had been caused by an anchor belonging to the Newnew Polar Bear, a Chinese-flagged container ship. In that case, the Newnew Polar Bear was able to leave the area before being held for questioning, docking in Russia before it eventually returned to China.
After its own investigation, China admitted that the Newnew Polar Bear was responsible for the damage but insisted it had been accidental. The (still unconfirmed) involvement of another Chinese ship in a second incident would likely cast further doubts on the explanation for the 2023 damage.
Not only in Europe but in the Indo-Pacific as well, governments are increasingly aware that submarine cables are a critical point of vulnerability. The cables carry nearly all of the world’s transcontinental digital traffic, but with over 1.4 million kilometers of such cables worldwide, defending them is difficult. Taiwan, in particular, has been worried about keeping its digital lifelines intact after Chinese vessels severed the cables that provide internet service to the outlying island of Matsu.
Amid growing global concern, the European governments involved are keen to make an example of whoever is responsible for damaging undersea cables. If Europe doesn’t respond to such incidents, “Hostile nations will keep pushing the line,” Lithuania’s defense minister warned. That raises the stakes for already fragile China-EU relations should the Yi Peng 3 be confirmed to be guilty as the investigation proceeds.