China’s Control of Submarine Cables Between NATO Nations Under Scrutiny

A Finnish newspaper has reported growing security concerns in the country over the Chinese ownership of a firm that operates underwater data cables in the Baltic Sea. Helsingin Sanomat reported that there was increased scrutiny over the Chinese state-owned firm Citic Telecom CPC, through its subsidiaries, owning the three telecommunications cables linking Finland, Estonia, and Sweden.

Although there are no allegations of wrongdoing by the firm, the head of Finland’s National Cyber Security Centre told the paper that Beijing's link was of concern because whoever controlled the cable had access to its data traffic.

Sari Arho Havrén, senior adviser for Business Finland, told Newsweek that as the cables are critical infrastructure, their control by China “is indeed problematic.”

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