Polish and Lithuanian network operators Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne (PSE) and Litgrid are considering a land route for a second power line between the countries to cut the cost and time needed to build a new cable, Reuters reported. Three decades after splitting from the former Soviet Union and 17 years since joining the EU, the Baltic Tigers still depend on Russia to ensure stable power supplies.

A project to build an underwater power link between Poland and Lithuania faces a significant delay as costs have exceeded initial projections. The link, initially set to be completed in 2025, is expected to be built in 2027-2028. The land cable could in part use the corridor of the planned Rail Baltica railway route between Poland and Lithuania, PSE said, adding options were being considered. The decision on which will be chosen will be made in the first half of 2024.

Meanwhile, Estonia has contacted Chinese authorities as part of its investigation into how two Baltic Sea telecom cables were severed. Early on Oct. 8, a gas pipeline and a telecoms cable connecting Finland and Estonia under the Baltic Sea were broken, in what Finnish investigators say may have been deliberate sabotage.

Reuters reported that two vessels, Hong-Kong-flagged NewNew Polar Bear and Russia-flagged Sevmorput, were present at all three sites around the time of the damage, according to data from MarineTraffic, a ship-tracking and maritime analytics provider.

The incidents have stoked concerns about energy security in the wider Nordic region and prompted NATO to increase patrols in the Baltic Sea and Helsinki to contact Moscow and Beijing via diplomatic channels about the incidents. Helsinki is investigating the damage to the pipeline and Tallinn to the cables.

On the other hand, China’s foreign ministry has urged Estonia not to allow Taiwan to open any official organizations in the country after the Chinese ambassador reportedly threatened to leave Estonia if Taiwan opens a representative office in the Baltic nation.

Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said that it was still in the discussion phase about setting up a representative office in Estonia and that the two sides had not yet reached consensus on the matter. The Asian country already has representative offices in Latvia and Lithuania.