By Louise Rasmussen
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -China has allowed representatives from Germany, Sweden, Finland and Denmark to board a Chinese bulk carrier at the centre of an investigation into Baltic Sea cable breaches, the Danish foreign minister said on Thursday.
The Yi Peng 3 vessel is wanted in Sweden for questioning over a breach of two undersea fibre-optic cables in November, and has been stationary in waters nearby for a month while diplomats in Stockholm and Beijing discussed the matter.
Investigators quickly zeroed in on the ship, which left the Russian port of Ust-Luga on Nov. 15, and a Reuters analysis of MarineTraffic data showed that the vessel’s coordinates corresponded to the time and place of the breaches.
The Baltic Sea cables, one linking Finland and Germany and the other connecting Sweden to Lithuania, were damaged on Nov. 17-18, prompting German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius to say he assumed it was caused by sabotage.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen on Thursday said his country had facilitated a meeting earlier this week between representatives from Germany, Sweden, Finland and China, helping break a month-long standoff.
“It is our expectation that once the inspection has been completed by this group of people from the four countries, the ship will be able to sail towards its destination,” Lokke Rasmussen said.
LSEG data showed Yi Peng 3 remained anchored in the same spot in the Kattegat strait between Denmark and Sweden.
Swedish police in a statement said they participated on board the vessel as observers only, while Chinese authorities conducted investigations.
“In parallel, the preliminary investigation into sabotage in connection with two cable breaks in the Baltic Sea is continuing,” the police said.
The actions taken on board the ship on Thursday were not part of the Swedish-led preliminary investigation, the police added.
The breaches happened in Sweden’s exclusive economic zone and Swedish prosecutors are leading the investigation on suspicion of possible sabotage.
Western intelligence officials from multiple countries have said they are confident the Chinese ship caused the cuts to both cables. But they have expressed different views on whether these were accidents or could have been deliberate.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson had urged the ship to return to Sweden to aid the investigation.
China’s foreign ministry said Beijing was in “full communication” with the countries concerned on the joint investigation, without elaborating.
China is willing to work together with relevant parties to “safely resolve the incident,” spokesperson Lin Jian told a news briefing on Friday.
(Reporting by Louise Breusch Rasmussen, Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Isabelle Yr Carlsson in Copenhagen, reporting by Liz Lee and Mei Mei Chu in Beijing, editing by Terje Solsvik and Keith Weir)
