Swedish police have been invited aboard a Chinese vessel within the Baltic Sea on Thursday with a view to observe a probe being carried out by Beijing into two severed undersea cables.
The telecom cables – one linking Finland and Germany, the opposite connecting Sweden to Lithuania – have been broken in mid-November off the coast of Denmark however in Swedish territorial waters.
The Chinese ship, the Yi Peng 3, had been tracked crusing above the cables on the time they have been minimize, and has remained anchored on the location since November 19.
Sweden: ‘No accusation’ leveled at China
“Representatives of the Chinese authorities are conducting investigations aboard the vessel and have invited the Swedish authorities to participate in an observer position,” Swedish police mentioned in an announcement, including:
“No investigative measures shall be taken by the Swedish Police Authority aboard the vessel.”
The assertion added {that a} “preliminary investigation into sabotage in reference to two cable breaks within the Baltic Sea is constant” however harassed that Thursday’s observations are usually not a part of these enquiries.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson mentioned Stockholm requested China’s cooperation within the investigation in late November, however harassed that there was no “accusation” of any type leveled at Beijing.
Other European officers, together with German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, have mentioned they think sabotage linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Kremlin has dismissed the suggestion as “laughable” and “absurd.”
mf/lo (Reuters, AFP)
