Sweden police to observe probe of Chinese ship linked to severed cables

Incidents with cut cables attract attention

Swedish police said Thursday they had been invited aboard a Chinese ship, anchored off Denmark and linked to two severed undersea cables, as observers while Chinese authorities investigate.

Sections of two telecom cables were cut on November 17 and 18 in Swedish territorial waters of the Baltic Sea, off the coast of Denmark.

Suspicions have been directed at a Chinese ship, the Yi Peng 3, which, according to ship tracking sites, had sailed over the cables around the time they were cut.

The Yi Peng 3 has remained anchored in the Kattegat Strait between Sweden and Denmark since November 19

"Representatives of the Chinese authorities are conducting investigations aboard the vessel and have invited the Swedish authorities to take part in an observer role," Swedish police said in a statement.

It added that "the Swedish Police Authority will take no investigative measures aboard the vessel."

Police also said Danish authorities facilitated the visit and that the Swedish Accident Investigation Authority would also take part.

Police also stressed that the "investigations taking place on the vessel on Thursday are not part of the police investigation."

European officials have said they suspect sabotage linked to Russia's invasion of Ukraine

The Kremlin has rejected the comments as "absurd" and "laughable".

In late November, Sweden requested China's cooperation in the investigation, but Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson stressed that there was no "accusation" of any sort.

Early on November 17, 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 Oland island, around 700 kilometers (435 miles) from Helsinki.

Tensions have mounted around the Baltic Sea since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Based on AFP reports