A spool of orange subsea fiber-optic cable sits on a metal reel. Underwater cables form the backbone of digital connectivity and economic stability in regions such as the Baltic. (Shutterstock/Dolores M. Harvey)

Beneath the Baltic: Why Underwater Infrastructure Matters 

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Undersea cables in the Baltic region are vital to energy, technology, and economic stability, but are increasingly vulnerable to disruption, sabotage, and geopolitical pressure.

Sabotage Below the Waves (w/ Martha Miller)

In this episode of Three Questions, Paul Saunders is joined by Martha Miller, a senior fellow for alliances and emerging threats at the Center for the National Interest, to examine a subject that underpins modern economies: undersea infrastructure in the Baltic region.

The Baltic region hosts a dense network of subsea telecommunications cables, electricity interconnectors, and gas pipelines. Fiber-optic cables carry the majority of global internet traffic, including financial transactions and business communications; power cables link national grids, helping countries balance supply and trade electricity; and gas pipelines have long been central to Europe’s energy system—and, in recent years, to its geopolitics.

This infrastructure helps to form the backbone of regional energy security, digital connectivity, and economic stability. 

The region sits at a crossroads between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Russia, and since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Finland and Sweden have joined the NATO alliance, changing regional dynamics. Within this environment, the number of incidents involving damage to underwater cables has risen. While some of the incidents are a direct result of maritime activity, others, particularly those linked to shadow fleets, have raised questions about deliberate disruption. 

The implications of these incidents extend beyond the region and the European continent. Disruptions to critical infrastructure impact insurance markets, energy prices, and data flows globally. Thus, subsea infrastructure has become a more prominent consideration in national security planning. 

This episode explores how national governments, NATO, and the private sector—which owns much of the infrastructure—can monitor, protect, and repair these assets. From improving anomaly detection to building redundancy into cable networks and increasing the United States’ shipbuilding capacity to enable repairs, resilience requires layered cooperation and prioritization.

Listen now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

About the Authors: Paul J. Saunders and Martha Miller

Paul J. Saunders is president of the Center for the National Interest and a member of its board of directors. He is also the publisher of The National Interest. His expertise spans US foreign and security policy, energy security and climate change, US-Russia relations and Russian foreign policy, and US relations with Japan and South Korea. Saunders is a senior advisor at the Energy Innovation Reform Project, where he served as president from 2019 to 2024. He has been a member of EIRP’s board of directors since 2013 and served as chairman from 2014 to 2019. At EIRP, Saunders has focused on the collision between great power competition and the energy transition, including such issues as energy security, energy technology competition, and climate policy in a divided world. In this context, he has engaged deeply in energy and climate issues in the Indo-Pacific region, especially US relations with Japan and South Korea. His most recent project at EIRP is an assessment of Russia’s evolving role in the global energy system.

Martha Miller is a senior fellow for alliances and emerging threats at the Center for the National Interest. She recently served as deputy executive director of the National Security Institute at the Antonin Scalia Law School and was special assistant to President George W. Bush. She also held national security roles in the Senate and the US State Department.

© The National Interest