(AFP) Sweden's coast guard said on Saturday it had begun monitoring Chinese vessels anchored off the country's coast in cooperation with Denmark after two undersea cables were severed due to suspected sabotage. .
On November 17th and 18th, parts of two communication cables were cut in Swedish territorial waters in the Baltic Sea.
Police in Sweden and Finland have launched investigations, and European officials say they suspect “sabotage” related to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin rejected the comments as “ridiculous” and “laughable.”
According to ship-tracking sites, the Yi Peng 3 was sailing on the cable around the time it was severed, but there is no indication that it was involved in the accident.
The ship has been anchored in the narrow Kattegat Strait between Sweden and Denmark since Tuesday.
China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs denies any responsibility for the incident.
“China is currently cooperating with relevant countries, including Denmark, to maintain smooth communication through diplomatic channels,” a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Friday.
The Danish Navy said on Wednesday that it was tracking the ship in international waters and that the possibility of intervention by Danish authorities was limited.
Sweden also took part on Saturday.
“We can confirm that we are on the scene… KBV001 Poseidon, one of our largest ships,” Swedish Coast Guard communications officer Linnea Kappel told AFP.
Kappel did not discuss the coast guard's mission, but said the agency was “supporting the (Swedish) police and prosecutors.”
If Yi Peng 3 sets sail, “we will follow it,” she added.
Early on the morning of November 17, the Alerion cable, which runs from the Swedish island of Gotland to Lithuania, was damaged.
The next day, the C-Lion 1 submarine cable connecting Helsinki to the German port of Rostock was severed south of the Swedish island of Oland, about 700 kilometers (435 miles) from Helsinki.
The Swedish navy told AFP on Friday that it had inspected one of the severed cables with a remote-controlled underwater camera and was inspecting a second one, without disclosing the results.
Finnish police said a Finnish coast guard vessel was scheduled to inspect the cable connecting Germany and Finland this weekend.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Tuesday that the cut cables were likely the result of “sabotage.”
“No one believes these cables were accidentally cut,” he said.
Tensions around the Baltic Sea have been increasing since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
In September 2022, a series of underwater explosions ruptured the Nord Stream pipeline carrying Russian gas to Europe, the cause of which has not yet been determined.
In October 2023, an undersea gas pipeline connecting Finland and Estonia was damaged by the anchor of a Chinese cargo ship and shut down.
