₦airaland Forum

Investigators of two severed data cables in the Baltic Sea are looking at the movements of a Chinese bulk carrier, the second such probe in recent months amid rising jitters in Europe over potential acts of sabotage.

Yi Peng 3, a Chinese-registered vessel that was on its way from the Russian port of Ust-Luga to Port Said in Egypt, passed close to both the Swedish-Lithuanian and Finnish-German cables around the time each was cut on Sunday and Monday, according to data provided by maritime tracking group MarineTraffic.

The cargo ship was closely followed by the Danish navy afterwards, said open source intelligence experts.

Sweden has opened an investigation into both incidents, and is examining what role the Yi Peng 3 might have played, said people familiar with the probe.

“The Swedes are taking a hard look at the Chinese vessel,” said one person with insight into the investigation.

Sweden’s government declined to comment about the Chinese ship. But an official said the police investigation would look at its movements in co-operation with the coastguard and armed forces.

The latest probe comes slightly more than a year after the anchor from another Chinese ship — the container vessel Newnew Polar Bear — damaged a Baltic gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia. Finnish and Estonian authorities have not said whether they believe that was done intentionally or by accident.

Germany’s defence minister Boris Pistorius on Monday said the severing of two fibre optic cables in 24 hours was likely to have been sabotage and was an act of hybrid warfare.

He added: “No one believes that these cables were cut accidentally . . . Therefore, we have to state, without knowing specifically who it came from, that it is a ‘hybrid’ action. And we also have to assume, without knowing it yet, that it is sabotage.”

Yi Peng 3 is owned by Ningbo Yipeng Shipping, a company that owns only one other vessel and is based near the eastern Chinese port city of Ningbo. A representative of Ningbo Yipeng told the Financial Times that “the government has asked the company to co-operate with the investigation”, but did not answer further questions and hung up, saying he was boarding a flight.

China’s embassy in Stockholm said: “We do not have information on this issue.” Its embassy in Helsinki did not respond to a request for comment.

The US has accused China of offering direct support to Russia’s war machine by supplying its military with materials to assist in its invasion of Ukraine. But there has been little if any public discussion about the activity of Chinese ships in the Baltic Sea.

The US is “incredibly concerned about hybrid warfare”, said state department spokesperson Matthew Miller on Tuesday.

He added: “When it comes to this specific incident, we’ve seen these reports, it’s our understanding that a number of the countries in question have announced investigations into the matter.

“We’ll of course wait for the outcome of those investigations before speaking to them specifically.”

Finnish officials on Monday urged caution and advised against rushing to conclusions. Authorities in Helsinki have said China co-operated with their investigation into the 2023 damage to the gas pipeline.

The governments of Germany, Sweden, Finland and Lithuania expressed their “deep concern” over the severing of the undersea cable and did not rule out sabotage.

Ministers from the countries said in a joint statement: “Situations like these must be assessed with the growing threat posed by Russia in our neighbourhood as a backdrop. This includes an increased number of hybrid activities in Europe.”

Laurynas Kasčiūnas, Lithuania’s defence minister, added: “After the investigation, the EU and member states must make best use of its newest sanctions regime for such sabotage of critical infrastructure.”

HydraFeeds:
What will China gain by destroying the cable ?

China is a resilient country ,they've been standing since the time of Emperor Cheng .

They don't go to different countries to cause chaos but to engage in infrastructural developments as we've seen in Nigeria and recently in Peru .

Xi Jinping has always maintained that the world is big enough for all countries to develop.

pansophist:
Projection.

China didn't destroyed the undersea cables.

HydraFeeds:
What will China gain by destroying the cables ?

China is a resilient country ,they've been standing since the time of Emperor Cheng .

They don't go to different countries to cause chaos but to engage in infrastructural developments as we've seen in Nigeria and recently in Peru .

Xi Jinping has always maintained that the world is big enough for all countries to develop.

Elusive001:
But they do illegal mining in many countries thereby sabotaging the economies of the countries.

educatedfool:
What's dis news all about in summary plz?

Botragelad:
Update is Danish navy vessel soloven have been able to track (Chinese vessel Yi Peng) down it seems.

If you still don't understand. This Chinese vessel is said to have destroyed two undersea Telecom cable linking some European countries.

HydraFeeds:
True .

US is culpable of illegal mining as well . Same as UK and France .

BoldBrainz:
You brought the news article to nairaland and you're the same idiot twisting the content therein.

Nothing in the entire write-up states that the Chinese vessel "is said to have destroyed two undersea telecom cables", but you just had to let your mischief get the better of you.

Botragelad:
Are you confused? The article states that a Chinese-registered vessel was seen near the locations where underwater cables were damaged, prompting an investigation.

Now, if you read that piece, it says "the vessel travelled from Russia's Ust-Luga port to Port Said in Egypt, passing close to the affected cables around the time they were cut". This occurrence is what led to suspicions that the Chinese vessel was responsible for the sabotage.

If the Chinese vessel wasn't suspected or said to have cut the cables, why then were they fingered out or tracked down?🤷‍♂️
It's simple to comprehend.

HydraFeeds:
What will China gain by destroying the cables ?

China is a resilient country ,they've been standing since the time of Emperor Cheng .

They don't go to different countries to cause chaos but to engage in infrastructural developments as we've seen in Nigeria and recently in Peru .

Xi Jinping has always maintained that the world is big enough for all countries to develop.

BoldBrainz:
Even your first paragraph contradicts the nonsense comment you dropped as a follow-up.

The vessel passed close to the location of the affected cables, prompting suspicions and an investigation which is said to be underway. Nothing has been concluded or insinuated yet.

But your coconut head jumped into formulating the conclusion for the authorities undertaking the investigations. This is how you people misrepresent news. It is rather you who should learn to properly understand the things you read.

GreyWolf01:
Could be Ukraine, could be the US, could be NATO, could be Russia , could be Germany, could be anyone , could be nature, could be jaws, could be Godzilla.


Could Be.

BoldBrainz:
Even your first paragraph contradicts the nonsense comment you dropped as a follow-up.

The vessel passed close to the location of the affected cables, prompting suspicions and an investigation which is said to be underway. Nothing has been concluded or insinuated yet.

But your coconut head jumped into formulating the conclusion for the authorities undertaking the investigations. This is how you people misrepresent news. It is rather you who should learn to properly understand the things you read.

Botragelad:
What conclusion was formulated?