As Baltic nations pursue their inquiries into whether the damage to undersea communication cables in the Baltic Sea earlier this week was the result of sabotage, attention is focusing on the Chinese cargo vessel Yi Peng 3, which was in the vicinity of the disruption at the time.
Yesterday, Finland’s Prime Minister Petteri Orpo told Finnish media that it is not yet possible to determine if the damage caused was in fact the result of sabotage.
Accordingly, for now there was no reason to apply NATO provisions for a collective response, as had been suggested by some Finnish politicians. However, activating Article 5 of the Treaty (collective defence in the event of an armed attack on an ally) was not ruled out by Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen. She believed this was possible also in the event of hybrid actions, backed by a “state entity“.
While the Finnish Central Criminal Police Office (KRP) is investigating how the undersea cable linking Helsinki to Rostock, Germany, was damaged, it has yet to determine the legal classification of the possible crime. The cable was snapped in the Swedish economic zone, about halfway along its length. Also damaged was the cable connecting Sweden and Lithuania. Swedish authorities are investigating the case as an act of sabotage, whereas Lithuania is treating it as an act of terrorism.
Scandinavian media are reporting that the Chinese cargo ship Yi Peng 3, which was in the vicinity, may have been involved in the damage to the cables. Reportedly, the freighter’s movements were being monitored by Danish naval vessels.
Finland’s Defence Minister Antti Hakkanen has cautioned that if suspicions arise, the ship should not be allowed to leave the Baltic Sea, noting how, “conclusions [had been] drawn” following damage to the Balticconnector gas pipeline last autumn. The investigation into that incident continues, with the Chinese container ship New Polar Bear suspected of ripping the Estonian-Finnish pipeline apart with its anchor. The vessel had departed the Baltic Sea before the Finnish investigation into the incident got underway. So far, it has yet to be determined whether damage to the infrastructure was accidental or intentional.
