By Necva Tastan Sevinc and Riyaz ul Khaliq
ISTANBUL (AA) — Beijing on Friday expressed readiness to cooperate with Sweden in an investigation into the severing of two undersea cables in the Baltic Sea, following a request for assistance from the Nordic country and suspicions linking a Chinese vessel to the damage.
"China is willing to work with relevant countries to uncover the truth," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters in the Chinese capital.
The cables — one connecting Sweden to Lithuania and the other Finland to Germany — were damaged on Nov. 17-18 in Swedish territorial waters.
A Chinese ship, the Yi Peng Three, was reportedly in the vicinity during the incidents and has since anchored in international waters near Denmark.
Mao said China and Sweden “are maintaining close communication on this issue.”
At a news conference on Thursday, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson had emphasized the importance of cooperation. "We think it's extremely important to find out exactly what happened and, of course, we expect also China to comply with the request we have sent," he said.
Kristersson also reiterated an earlier request for the ship to return to Swedish waters for inspection, while stressing that this was not an accusation of wrongdoing, BBC reported.
Data from maritime tracking sites indicate the Yi Peng Three may have sailed over the affected cables at the time of the incidents.
Investigators suspect the ship may have deliberately dragged its anchor along the seabed, damaging the cables over a span of 160 kilometers, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The Yi Peng Three had departed from the Russian port of Ust-Luga on Nov. 15.
The first cable, operated by Arelion, linking Gotland, Sweden, to Lithuania, was damaged early on Nov. 17.
The next day, the C-Lion 1 cable between Helsinki, Finland, and Rostock, Germany, was also severed.
China has denied any involvement, while Russia dismissed allegations of its potential role as “absurd” and “laughable.”
The Yi Peng Three has been monitored by the Danish navy in the Kattegat Strait since Nov. 19.
Swedish authorities urged the vessel to return to facilitate the investigation.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has stated that “nobody believes that these cables were cut accidentally,” although he refrained from naming any specific party.