Summary
China expressed willingness to cooperate with Sweden’s investigation into the severing of two Baltic Sea data cables on November 17-18, near where a Chinese-flagged vessel, Yi Peng 3, was sighted.
Sweden has formally requested China’s collaboration and asked the ship to move to Swedish waters for inspection.
The cables, linking Finland-Germany and Sweden-Lithuania, have been repaired. Authorities from Sweden, Finland, Lithuania, and Germany are investigating, with Germany suspecting sabotage.
Russia dismissed accusations of involvement as “absurd.” China stated it is in active communication with Sweden.
It’s possible, we won’t know until we investigate. Seems very positive for diplomacy that Beijing is open to discussion and investigation here, either way.
Saying you’re open to something is also the diplomatic first step of stalling. There no way to know if they are being candid or disingenuous.
It’s Beijing’s openness that is why this is what I’m speculating. I think they would be a lot less willing to cooperate if they had sanctioned this. But I’m no expert on international geopolitics, so… 🤷
They could just be trying to seem cooperative and uninvolved, though, right? 🤷♂️