China yesterday said that it was “willing to work” with a probe into the severing of two Baltic Sea cables linked to a Chinese ship, after Sweden asked for Beijing’s cooperation with the investigation.
“China is willing to work with relevant countries to find out the truth,” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Mao Ning (毛寧) told a regular news conference. “Currently, China and Sweden are maintaining close communication on this issue.”
Sweden formally asked China to cooperate in explaining the rupture of two data cables on the Baltic Sea bed in an area where a China-flagged vessel had been sighted, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Thursday.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The two cables, one running from Finland to Germany and the other from Lithuania to Sweden, were both damaged in Swedish waters last week, in an area where the Yi Peng 3, a China-flagged bulk carrier, was seen.
The Yi Peng 3 has been moored in international waters between Sweden and Denmark.
Kristersson told a news conference in the town of Harpsund that Sweden would like the vessel to move to its own waters to allow for an inspection within the ongoing international investigation.
“As I had said before, Sweden has expressed our desire for the ship to move to Swedish waters and we are in contact with China from Sweden,” Kristersson said. “Today I can also tell you that in addition to that Sweden has also sent a formal request to China to cooperate with Swedish authorities in order to create clarity on what has happened.”
He was speaking after a security meeting of government leaders of the Baltic Sea region.
At the same news conference, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk expressed “full solidarity and full support,” and trust in Sweden’s reliability as it acts in the interest of all nations in the region.
Finnish, Swedish and German authorities have launched investigations into the rupture of the two cables.
German Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius said that the damage appeared to have been caused by sabotage, although there is no proof at present.
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