After Sweden’s Foreign Minister claimed that Beijing denied a request for conducting an investigation on its ship 'Yi Peng 3' linked to the cutting of two cables in the Baltic Sea, his Chinese counterpart clarified that they have invited Germany, Sweden, Finland and Denmark to participate in joint investigation. China has already given the countries access to information and documents related to Yi Peng 3, Reuters quoted Wang Yi as saying.
The Baltic Sea cables, one linking Finland and Germany and the other connecting Sweden to Lithuania, were damaged on Nov. 17 and 18, prompting German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius to say he assumed this was caused by sabotage. Investigators quickly zeroed in on the Chinese ship, which left the Russian port of Ust-Luga on Nov. 15.
Meanwhile, another report claimed that the ship resumed cruise after sitting still for more than a month in a nearby Danish shipping lane, The Swedish Coastguard said on Saturday.
"It has started moving and has said it is going to Port Said in Egypt," a Swedish Coastguard spokesperson told Reuters. "We are tracking the ship and are in close contact with other concerned authorities," the spokesperson reportedly added. No further details were given and the spokesperson did not say whether any evidence had been found regarding the cable breaches.
"We are content with the visit onboard, which was relatively open and transparent and we had the possibility to see what we wanted to see and to talk to the crew members that we wanted to talk with," the news agency quoted Jonas Backstrand, chair of Sweden's accident investigation authority as saying on Friday.
Vessels in international waters benefit from the "freedom of navigation" principle, meaning a state cannot interfere with ships sailing under the flag of another state.
Denmark, which helped broker a compromise allowing the European nations to send representatives on board, on Thursday said the Yi Peng 3 would be able to resume its journey following the inspection.
Sweden's accident investigation authority said it had inspected the vessel alongside a similar Chinese agency, while police officers from Finland, Germany, Sweden and Denmark were present as observers.