Gen. Claudio Graziano, President of Fincantieri and former head of the European Union Military Committee, poses an issue of strategic importance in la Repubblica of 1 October.
Graziano points out how the war in Ukraine has gone from being a ‘hybrid war’ to a ‘war without limits’ (a concept theorised by two Chinese colonels, Qiao Liang and Wang Xiangsui, in the late 1990s).
In addition to all the consequences we know about, most recently the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines, Graziano specifies the immense network of submarine cables that encircle Europe and through which 99% of the data exchange for the functioning of the Internet passes.
This poses an additional, even military, problem for Europe. Both north and south, threats to submarine cables are a possible event. In the north, because of increased traffic and the massive presence of Russian naval forces. In the south, because the Mediterranean is not only an explosive crossroads of crises but also an intricate tangle of submarine pipelines and networks.
Once again, Europe finds itself in the grip of a strategic security issue that puts peace and freedom at stake. Is there awareness of all this in the Old Continent, given the lack of willingness shown in recent days to present a united front on the energy issue?