‘Hybrid Warfare’: Russia and China Suspected of Cutting a Second Undersea Cable

An undersea communications cable in the Baltic Sea between Lithuania and Sweden was cut on Sunday, the second cable severed in two days, with Russia and China the likely suspects for both.

• The Chinese-flagged cargo ship Yi Peng, in cooperation with Russia, is believed to be responsible for the destruction.

“We can confirm that the Internet traffic disruption was not caused by equipment failure but by physical damage to the fiber optic cable,” said Audrius Stasiulaitis, spokesperson for telecommunications company Telia Lithuania.

The first incident involved an undersea Internet cable connecting Finland to Germany, the only direct link of its type running between Finland and Central Europe.

Hybrid warfare: In a joint statement released Monday, the foreign ministers of Finland and Germany said they were “deeply concerned” about the severed cable, and they suggested the possibility of “hybrid warfare.”

Sweden and Finland have joined nato in the past two years, which Russia perceives as a threat.

Audacious: Though the culprits are not yet confirmed, these two incidents seem to fit a disturbing pattern of increasing Russian and Chinese provocations with attacks on vital undersea infrastructure.

Overlooked vulnerability: The Trumpet has been warning about Western nations’ technological vulnerability for almost 30 years, with particular emphasis on the United States. Russia and China know how dependent these nations are on the vast network of undersea cables, and they are increasingly targeting it.

Learn more: Read our article “The Undersea Threat to the Internet.”