Sweden has previously expressed a desire for the Chinese vessel Yi Peng 3 to come to Swedish waters. Now a formal request is being made.
It expresses our very clear intention to be able to conduct an examination of the vessel so that we can really find out what happened, says Kristersson (The Moderate Party).
It is not an accusation against anyone, but it is an event that is far too serious not to be investigated very thoroughly.
The announcement comes after two underwater cables were damaged in the Baltic Sea, one between Finland and Germany and the other between Sweden and Lithuania.
No Response
In connection with this, there are suspicions against Yi Peng 3, which is currently lying still in the Kattegat, where the vessel is being monitored by, among others, the Danish navy.
Ulf Kristersson stated on Tuesday that Sweden has been in contact with the vessel and with China.
As far as I know, no response has come yet. But now it has gone through the very formal route from government to government, and then I expect a response and that it will be positive, he says.
He says that Sweden is not going to give up.
It cannot be the case that things that are serious, potentially really security-threatening, happen again and again in the Baltic Sea, without the countries affected by this getting clarity on what has happened, says Kristersson.
Intentional?
According to the Wall Street Journal, investigators suspect that Yi Peng 3 intentionally dropped its anchor 16 miles along the Baltic Sea floor and thereby destroyed the two cables.
It is extremely unlikely that the captain would not have noticed that his vessel both dropped its anchor and dragged it behind it and lost speed for several hours, says an anonymous investigator according to the American newspaper.
