China’s role in Baltic Sea sabotage investigated as Swedish PM calls for action

Sweden's Prime Minister, Ulf Kristersson, has urged a Chinese ship, the Yi Peng 3, suspected of being linked to the recent cutting of undersea cables in the Baltic Sea, to move into Swedish waters as part of an escalating investigation into the potential sabotage.

The Yi Peng 3, a Chinese bulk carrier, is under investigation by Swedish authorities after it passed near the Swedish-Lithuanian and Finnish-German cables, which were severed more than a week ago, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

The ship is currently moored voluntarily in international waters between Denmark and Sweden, with naval vessels from Sweden, Denmark, Germany, and occasionally Russia monitoring the area.

“We have had contact with the ship and with China and have requested that the ship move towards Swedish waters,” Kristersson stated on November 26.

Europe remains on high alert for potential sabotage of vital infrastructure following a series of incidents involving damaged gas pipelines, data cables, and fires across the continent. While intelligence officials have often pointed to Russia as a suspect in these cases, the involvement of a Chinese vessel for the second time in just over a year has intensified diplomatic discussions with Beijing.

Sweden, Denmark, and Finland are pressing China to allow Nordic investigators on board the Yi Peng 3, although the ship has not been formally accused of any wrongdoing. While Chinese officials have expressed a cooperative attitude, Nordic authorities have acknowledged that negotiations with Beijing are likely to take time.

Kristersson emphasized that Sweden was not accusing the Yi Peng 3 of any wrongdoing, but moving the ship into Swedish waters would facilitate “easier cooperation.” He also noted, “This is not the first time we have suffered a severed cable due to a somewhat unclear reason.”

In October 2023, another Chinese vessel, the Newnew Polar Bear, was implicated in damaging a gas pipeline and several data cables in the Baltic Sea by dragging its anchor during a storm. Authorities only focused their inquiries on the ship after it left the region, and Finland’s defence minister recently stated that the country would take a more proactive approach to preventing vessels from engaging in suspicious activity.

Recent reports from Denmark’s public broadcaster, DR, showed that one of the Yi Peng 3's anchors had been damaged. Following the incident, Germany’s Defense Minister Boris Pistorius remarked, “No one believes these cables were cut accidentally. We have to conclude, without knowing the exact source, that this is a ‘hybrid’ action, and we must assume, even if we don’t yet know, that it is sabotage.”

The Yi Peng 3 is owned by Ningbo Yipeng Shipping, a company based near the eastern Chinese port city of Ningbo, which owns only one other vessel. A representative from Ningbo Yipeng confirmed to the Financial Times that the company had been asked by the Chinese government to cooperate with the investigation, though it declined to provide further details.

By Tamilla Hasanova