A Chinese vessel has been implicated in what has been described as the sabotage of undersea telecom cables in the Baltic Sea, a body of water dubbed the “NATO Lake” due to its location between alliance members.

International concern surrounds the cutting of the 730-mile C-Lion 1 cable connecting Finland and Germany and the 130-mile link between Sweden and Lithuania on Monday. A legal expert has told Newsweek that any investigation into the incidents “could span years” and could set precedents for future alleged incidents of underwater sabotage.