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China refused investigation into ship linked to severed Baltic cables, says Sweden Sweden says China denied request for prosecutors to board ship linked to severed cables
(about 3 hours later)
Foreign minister says China denied request for prosecutor to investigate onboard Yi Peng 3, which sailed over cablesForeign minister says China denied request for prosecutor to investigate onboard Yi Peng 3, which sailed over cables
Sweden’s foreign minister has said China has denied a request for prosecutors to conduct an investigation on a Chinese ship linked to the cutting of two Baltic Sea cables. Sweden has accused China of denying a request for Swedish prosecutors to board a Chinese ship that has been linked to the cutting of two undersea cables in the Baltic despite Beijing pledging “cooperation” with regional authorities.
Sections of two telecom cables were cut on 17 and 18 November in Swedish territorial waters of the Baltic. Suspicions have been directed at a Chinese ship, the Yi Peng 3, which according to ship tracking sites sailed over the cables around the time they were cut. The Yi Peng 3 left the waters it had been anchored in since last month on Saturday – despite an ongoing investigation.
The Swedish foreign minister, Maria Malmer Stenergard, told Agence France-Presse: “Swedish police have been on board [Yi Peng 3] as observers in connection with the Chinese investigation … At the same time, I note that China has not heeded our request for the prosecutor to conduct an investigation onboard.” The ship was tracked sailing over the two fibre-optic cables, one between Sweden and Lithuania, and the other linking Helsinki and Germany, at around the time that they were cut on 17 and 18 November in Swedish territorial waters close to the Swedish islands of Gotland and Öland.
Earlier on Monday, Beijing had promised to continue cooperation with regional authorities over the Yi Peng 3. For more than a month afterwards it was anchored in the Kattegat strait between Sweden and Denmark where it was being observed by multiple countries and was boarded by Swedish police and other authorities last week. The ship tracking site VesselFinder showed the Yi Peng 3 heading north out of the strait on Saturday and on Monday China confirmed the ship had left in order to “ensure the physical and mental wellbeing of the crew”.
The ship tracking site Vesselfinder showed the Yi Peng 3, which had been anchored in the international waters of the Kattegat strait between Sweden and Denmark, steaming north out of the strait on Saturday. The Swedish foreign minister, Maria Malmer Stenergard, said on Monday that China had not cooperated with Sweden’s request to allow Swedish prosecutors onboard.
Beijing said on Monday that the ship had left “to ensure the physical and mental wellbeing of the crew”. “Swedish police have been onboard and attended as an observer in connection with the Chinese investigation,” she said. “The state’s accident commission took part in its role as the accident investigation authority. At the same time I can note that China has not listened to our request that the prosecutor should be able to conduct a preliminary investigation onboard.
“The shipowner company, after a comprehensive evaluation and consultation with relevant parties, decided to resume operations,” said Mao Ning, a foreign ministry spokesperson. “China has notified all relevant countries in advance. China is willing to maintain communication and cooperation with the countries involved to advance the follow-up handling of the incident.” “Our request that Swedish prosecutors, together with the police and others, be allowed to take certain investigative measures within the framework of the investigation on board remains. We have been clear with China on this.”
European officials have said they suspect sabotage linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin has rejected the comments as “absurd” and “laughable”. Stenergard said that although she expected talks to continue between Sweden and China “at different levels”, it was the prosecutor who had to decide what investigative measures should be taken.
On Thursday, authorities from Sweden, Germany and Finland were invited onboard the vessel for an investigation led by China. “We have great respect for the preliminary investigation being conducted independently and we are still waiting for its findings,” she added. “I assume we will have continued talks with China about the matter, at different levels, to continue to make our argument and to work for the police and prosecutor to have the conditions to investigate what has happened.”
A Danish representative accompanied the group as the country had served a “facilitating role” by hosting meetings between the countries earlier in the week, its foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, said. Earlier on Monday, China pledged to continue its cooperation with regional authorities over the ship.
In late November, Sweden requested China’s cooperation in the investigation. The Swedish prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, stressed that there was no “accusation” of any sort. “The shipowner company, after a comprehensive evaluation and consultation with relevant parties, decided to resume operations,” Mao Ning, a foreign ministry spokesperson told AFP. “China has notified all relevant countries in advance. China is willing to maintain communication and cooperation with the countries involved to advance the follow-up handling of the incident.”
Early on 17 November, the Arelion cable running from the Swedish island of Gotland to Lithuania was damaged. The next day, the C-Lion 1 submarine cable connecting Helsinki and the German port of Rostock was cut south of Sweden’s Öland island, about 435 miles (700km) from Helsinki. Some European officials have said they suspect the cables were sabotaged in connection with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin has rejected the accusations as “absurd” and “laughable”.
Tensions have mounted around the Baltic Sea since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In September 2022, a series of underwater blasts ruptured the Nord Stream pipelines that carried Russian gas to Europe, the cause of which has yet to be determined. On Thursday, Swedish, German and Finnish authorities were invited to board the Yi Peng 3 along with a Danish representative as part of a Chinese-led investigation. But the Swedish prosecutor, which is leading a European investigation, was not permitted to board the vessel.
In October 2023, an undersea gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia was shut down after it was damaged by the anchor of a Chinese cargo ship. At the end of last month, the Swedish prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, said Swedish authorities had sent a formal request to China for cooperation over the suspected sabotage and was seeking “clarity” from China as to what had happened to the cables.
“Today I can tell you that we have additionally sent a formal request to work together with Swedish authorities to get clarity about what has happened,” he said then. “We expect China will choose to work together as we have requested.”