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A view of the anchor of the Chinese ship, the bulk carrier Yi Peng 3, in the sea of Kattegat, near the City of Grenaa in Jutland, Denmark, on Nov. 20, 2024.
Sweden wants to inspect a suspicious Chinese ship
A year ago, you’ll recall that another Chinese-flagged vesseldragged an anchor that damaged an undersea gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia.
This latest Chinese vessel is now anchored in international waters between Sweden and Denmark, and Swedish authorities, without leveling any accusation, have requested that the ship enter Swedish waters and welcome inspectors on board to investigate. It remains unclear whether the Chinese ship will comply.
This episode comes at a time of heightened alert for Russian sabotage attacks on European infrastructure in response to EU support for Ukraine. In particular, Russian involvement is suspected in a number of fires and mail bombs across the continent.
Boats navigate the Moscow River near the Kremlin.
Europeans warn of Russian sabotage attacks
On Monday, the head of Germany’s domestic intelligence agency told a parliamentary committee at the German Bundestag that a package exploded in Leipzig earlier this year before it could be loaded onto an airplane. Had the package reached the plane, he warned, it would have detonated in flight. The official did not name a suspect in the case, but German media reports that officials believe the incident is linked to Russia.
The head of Germany’s foreign intelligence service told the same committee that Russian sabotage attacks in Europe have reached a “level previously unseen” and that “direct military confrontation with NATO has become an option for Moscow.”
This is the latest incident to raise concerns across Europe about Russian sabotage attacks that may be intended to weaken European support for Ukraine. In April, Germany arrested two German-Russian nationals on suspicion of plotting attacks on US military facilities, Poland arrested a man accused of spying on an airport for Russian intelligence, and the UK charged several men for an arson attack on a Ukrainian-owned firm in London. Russian operatives are “on a sustained mission to generate mayhem on British and European streets,” warned the head of MI5, Britain’s domestic security agency earlier this month.