Sweden asks China to cooperate

Sweden sent an official request for cooperation to China on Thursday, November 28, in order to «clarifier» the role of the Chinese cargo ship anchored off its coast in the investigation into the rupture of submarine cables in the Baltic, considered a possible act of sabotage.

“Sweden has sent a formal request to China to cooperate with the Swedish authorities to clarify what happened”declared Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson during a press conference with his Polish counterpart, Donald Tusk.

It comes after the rupture of two submarine cables in the Baltic Sea on November 17 and 18. Sweden has opened an investigation into sabotage and is investigating the role of a Chinese ship, the Yi Peng 3, stranded in international waters near the Danish coast.

“It’s still not an accusation”

Stockholm wants this bulk carrier to return to its territorial waters in order to contribute to the investigation. “It is still not an accusation, but there is a very clear desire on the part of Sweden” to understand exactly what happened, added the Swedish head of government. “And of course we expect China to comply with this request”he said again.

The “Yi Peng 3,” a bulk carrier built in 2001, sailed into the area of ​​the cables around the time they were cut, according to ship tracking sites, with no evidence yet to incriminate it. . The Danish navy and the Swedish coast guard are monitoring the cargo ship, which has been immobilized since November 19 in the narrow Kattegat Strait between Sweden and Denmark.

Chinese diplomacy rejects suspicions

At the same time, Finland opened an investigation to “aggravated criminal damage” et “aggravated interference with communications” concerning the damage to the German-Finnish cable. And Lithuania announced on Wednesday that it would set up a joint investigation team with Sweden and Finland, coordinated by Eurojust, the European Union's judicial cooperation agency.

Last week, Chinese diplomacy rejected suspicions targeting its building, claiming to have “always fully fulfilled its obligations as a flag State” et “required Chinese vessels to scrupulously respect applicable laws and regulations”said Lin Jian, spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry.