Undersea Cables
Debate between Lord Vallance of Balham and Lord Anderson of Swansea(1 day, 19 hours ago)
Lords ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Lord Vallance of Balham (Lab)
As I have said, the view is that, of the 10 to 20 breaks per year, nearly all are due to fishing vessels, anchors and natural events under the sea. Clearly, that is not a retaliation issue. I think the noble Earl is talking about malign attacks, and we have to wait for the outcome of the investigations into the current breaks.
Lord Anderson of Swansea (Lab)
My Lords, the German Defence Minister was quick off the mark in ascribing the damage to sabotage. Do the Government agree? Do they point the finger at the Chinese or the Russians?
Lord Vallance of Balham (Lab)
At the moment, the answer is neither, because an investigation is being undertaken by Lithuanian, Swedish, Finnish and German ministries to try to understand exactly what went on. Until that report is out, it is premature to speculate.