„China's unwillingness to cooperate in the investigation of the submarine cable incident in the Baltic Sea cannot create a precedent in Europe – or anywhere else,“ Budrys wrote on his X account on Sunday.
„If the mentality of 'what's mine is mine' becomes the new global norm, it can be countered by new rules for shipping in EU waters, aimed at reducing the vulnerability of the community,“ the Foreign Minister said, adding that security in the region can only be created by curbing weaknesses.
ELTA recalls that two telecommunication cables were damaged in November in Swedish territorial waters in the Baltic Sea off the Danish coast.
On the morning of 17 November, the Arelion submarine cable between the Swedish island of Gotland and Lithuania was damaged. The following day, south of Gotland, about 700 km from Helsinki, the submarine cable C-Lion 1 connecting the Finnish capital with the German port of Rostock was cut.
Suspicions were aroused by a Chinese cargo ship, the Yi Peng 3, which, according to ship tracking websites, was sailing over the cables around the time they were damaged.
The Swedish coastguard reported that the Chinese ship, which had been off the Danish coast since 19 November, set sail on Saturday.
Lithuanian politicians have linked the cable failures to Russia's increased activity in the region and called for talks at NATO level on a joint alliance response. German Defence Minister Pistorius said the damage to the cables should be considered „sabotage.“
European officials said they suspected sabotage linked to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin rejected these comments, calling them absurd and ridiculous.
At the end of November, Sweden sent a formal request to China to cooperate with the investigation, but Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson stressed that there were no charges.
