NATO must establish naval patrols to protect transatlantic cables – expert

This perspective was shared by Estonian political journalist and diplomat Harry Tiido in an interview with Ukrinform.

"The creation of such patrols is becoming a pressing need. This is not just a Baltic Sea issue. There is also concern about transatlantic cables. Let’s recall the incident with a Russian warship in Irish waters, where it was simply pushed out because it was in an area where transatlantic cables are located," Tiido said.

He noted that the British military is already developing plans to use underwater drones to monitor cable sites.

"If we consider the recent November incident of two communication cables being damaged in the Baltic, a Chinese ship was involved. Reports suggest it dragged an anchor for 160–180 km. It’s hard to imagine the captain was unaware of this or didn’t understand something was wrong, as it would slow the ship and increase fuel consumption," Tiido emphasized.

He also highlighted China's interest in underwater communication networks in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. "There, they use a different tactic — attempting to run communications through nodes equipped with Chinese technology. Through this equipment, they can monitor what’s happening. So this is a very serious and broad issue. Further measures are needed to ensure the security of underwater communications," the Estonian expert concluded.

As reported by Ukrinform, at the end of November, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk proposed that Baltic and Scandinavian allies establish a joint mission to patrol the Baltic Sea and protect critical infrastructure in the region.