Stockholm urges Chinese ship suspected of sabotage to return to Swedish waters

Sweden asked a Chinese vessel to return to its waters Tuesday while the Nordic country investigates the suspected sabotage of submarine internet cables in the Baltic Sea.

A 1,000-kilometer-long cable linking Finland and Germany and another connecting Sweden to Lithuania were severed last week, sparking political alarm in European capitals.

A Chinese-flagged vessel, Yi Peng 3, was on its way from Russia to Egypt and sailed close to the cables around the time they were damaged. Swedish and Finnish authorities have opened investigations into the incident.

Denmark’s navy said it was shadowing the ship, which is currently anchored in international waters between Denmark and Sweden.

“From the Swedish side, we have had contact with the ship and China and stated that we want the ship to move towards Swedish waters,” Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Tuesday, while stressing that he was not leveling an accusation at the vessel.

“It’s not the first time we’ve been hit by a cable break with a slightly unclear basis,” he added. “We absolutely want to know what caused this.”

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius was more emphatic, saying last week “nobody believes” that the two broken telecommunications cables were “accidentally cut.”

“We have to conclude, without knowing exactly who did it, that it is a hybrid action and we also have to assume — without knowing it — that it is sabotage,” he said.

Moscow dismissed suggestions that Russia had anything to do with the cables as “ridiculous.” Russia has stepped up its campaign of hybrid warfare in Europe, including acts of sabotage, since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in early 2022.

Beijing also denied any involvement in the incident. Denmark’s Foreign Ministry said Monday it was “in ongoing dialogue with the countries most involved in handling this case, including China,” without giving further details.