Sweden Implores China To Co-operate Over Damaged Cables

Sweden has formally asked China to co-operate with an investigation into damage to two cables in the Baltic Sea after a Chinese ship was linked to the incidents.

The cables – one linking Sweden to Lithuania and the other between Finland and Germany – were damaged in Swedish territorial waters in the Baltic Sea on 17 and 18 November.

A Chinese ship, the Yi Peng Three, is believed to have been in the area at the time and has since been anchored in international waters off Denmark.

Beijing has denied any involvement in sabotage and on Friday said it was willing to work with Sweden and other countries to find out what happened.

The Yi Peng Three left the Russian port of Ust-Luga, west of St Petersburg, on 15 November.

Early on 17 November, the Arelion cable between the Swedish island of Gotland and Lithuania was damaged.

The following day, the C-Lion 1 cable between the Finnish capital Helsinki and the German port of Rostock was severed.

Data from ship tracking websites suggest the Yi Peng Three sailed over the cables at around the time that each was cut.
The ship has been in the Kattegat strait – a passage between Sweden and Denmark that connects the Baltic Sea to the North Sea – since 19 November and is being monitored by the Danish navy.

On Thursday, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told a press conference that his government had “sent a formal request to China to co-operate with Swedish authorities in order to create clarity on what has happened”.

He also reiterated an earlier request for the ship to move back into Swedish waters so it could be searched as part of the investigation, though added that he was not making an “accusation” of any sort.

In response on Friday, China’s foreign ministry said it is “willing to work with related countries to find out the truth”.

BBC