Sweden asks for China’s cooperation in probe over damage to Baltic Sea cables

EURO NEws - The two cables, one running from Finland to Germany and the other from Lithuania to Sweden, were both damaged in Swedish waters last week, in an area where the Yi Peng 3 bulk carrier was seen.

Sweden has formally asked China to cooperate in explaining the recent rupture of two data cables on the Baltic Sea bed in an area where a China-flagged vessel had been sighted.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said it was, "extremely important to find out exactly what happened."

"Sweden has expressed our desire for the ship to move to Swedish waters…And of course, we expect also China to comply with the request we have sent to China."

The two cables, one running from Finland to Germany and the other from Lithuania to Sweden, were both damaged in Swedish waters last week, in an area where the Yi Peng 3 bulk carrier was seen.

The Wall Street Journal reported that investigators suspect the Yi Peng 3 of deliberately severing the fibre-optic cables by dragging its anchor along the seabed.

In a post on X, NORSAR, the Norwegian foundation that tracks earthquakes and nuclear explosions, said it hadn't detected any "seismic signals" in the area, indicating there hadn't been any explosions.

The Yi Peng 3 is currently anchored in international waters between Sweden and Denmark where it is being monitored by several vessels, including those belonging to the Danish navy.

Kristersson was speaking after a security meeting of government leaders of the Baltic Sea region.

In the same news conference, Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk expressed "full solidarity and full support" and trust in Sweden's reliability as it acts in the interest of all countries in the Baltic region.

"Talking about this incident, it was not the very first one, obviously, on the Baltic Sea. So it did not happen for the first time, as you know. And these types of incidents, they annoy all of us, obviously, and those who are interested in safe navigation and safety as such on the Baltic Sea and in countries in the Baltic Sea region," Tusk said.

Tusk was referring to separate incidents which saw the Nord Stream pipelines and the Balticconnector damaged.

The Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which carried gas from Russia to Germany, were both damaged in explosions in 2022.

And the Balticconnector gas pipeline was seriously damaged the next year.

Meanwhile, Finnish, Swedish and German authorities have launched investigations into the rupture of the two fibre-optic cables.

Germany's defence minister said that the damage appeared to have been caused by sabotage, though there is no proof of that at present.

Chinese authorities in Beijing said they had no information about the ship but denied any responsibility and said Beijing was ready to "maintain communication" with relevant parties.