Vice-Admiral Didier Maleterre is Deputy Commander of NATO Maritime Command (Marcom). He believes that underwater infrastructure in Europe and North America is vulnerable to attack, including from Russia or other enemies of the defense alliance.

Infrastructure is not designed to withstand hybrid warfare, he says, according to The Guardian.

This puts the safety of nearly a billion people at risk.

– We know that Russia has developed hybrid submarine warfare to create disruption in the European economy through cables, internet cables and pipeline systems. The underwater economy is threatened, believes Maleterre.

The West has repeatedly accused Russia of waging a form of hybrid warfare.

This concerns warfare using both conventional and unconventional means. Examples of the latter can be propaganda, cyberattacks as well as economic influence.

-To be absolutely clear, we know that the Russians have developed nuclear submarines to operate underwater. We are therefore not naive and NATO countries are working together, says Maleterre, according to The Guardian.

More events

In September 2022, a few months after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, explosions were recorded on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines, which connect Russia to the European energy grid via the Baltic Sea.

The eyes of the world quickly turned to the Russians, who have since proclaimed their innocence. It was concluded that the cable leaks were due to sabotage, but it was not determined who was responsible.

Ukraine and Russia accused each other for the sabotage action, and Russia demanded an independent investigation.

In October of last year, it struck again. This time, it was the Balticconnector gas pipeline, between Finland and Estonia, which was affected.

Finnish authorities, who investigated the damage, said shortly after the incident that it was found an anchor near the pipeline. In November, Finnish police said the anchor belonged to the Chinese ship Newnew Polar Bear.

The pipeline was again declared healthy in early April.

– We are in a moment of destiny

– Looking towards Russia

Maleterre believes that reality has changed dramatically and at a rapid pace since much of the underwater infrastructure was built.

He points out in particular that more than 90 percent of the Internet is underwater and connects the United States, Canada and Europe, which contains “many vulnerabilities”.

And although more than 100 ships, nuclear submarines and submarines of NATO forces patrol Western waters, it is impossible for NATO to monitor every corner at all times, he points out.

– We currently have our eyes on Russia, but it is very difficult to ensure permanent monitoring of each cable. This is not possible, said Maleterre.

Several countries, such as Norway, Sweden and Denmark, have therefore developed, among other things, drones and sensors to be able to quickly detect suspicious activities, he continues.

At the beginning of April, Norway concluded a security agreement for the North Sea with Great Britain, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany.

Among the measures the countries have agreed on are increased camera surveillance in the North Sea and the development of acoustic shields capable of detecting extraterrestrial activity at seafloor facilities, according to NRK.