Investigators are trying to decoding two mysterious cable breaks in the Baltic Sea that occurred just hours apart. European officials believe the disruption was an act of sabotage while US officials believe it is likely that this was just an accident.
Two cables near the Nord Stream gas pipeline - BCS East-West connecting Lithuania to Sweden and C-Lion1 connecting Finland to Germany - were suddenly cut on November 17 and 18.
European leaders quickly expressed skepticism. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said "no one believes that these cables were cut accidentally".
The Finnish and German foreign ministers said in a joint statement that they were very concerned about the incident and raised the possibility of it being part of a hybrid war, specifically mentioning Russia.
The disruption to the cables comes just weeks after the US warned that Russia was likely to target critical underwater infrastructure, CNN noted.
This comes after months of the movement of Russian ships in European waters and the significant reinforcement of a specialized Russian secret naval unit tasked with surveying the seabed.
But two US officials familiar with the initial assessment of the incident told CNN that the cable break was not believed to be intentional by Russia or any other country, but rather a possible anchor being pulled from a passing ship. Such accidents have occurred in the past, although not in a row like the two incidents on November 17-18.
On November 20, the Kremlin rejected rycky suggestions that Moscow was involved, saying it was unreasonable to blame Russia for anything without basis.
However, law enforcement agencies in both Sweden and Finland believe the incident was intentional.
The Swedish Public Prosecutors Office said it had opened a preliminary investigation into alleged sabotage. The Finnish National Bureau of Investigation also announced the launch of a criminal investigation into alleged acts of sabotage and serious interference in communications.
Meanwhile, the appearance of a ship has attracted the attention of authorities.
The Chinese-flagged Yi Peng 3 was spotted in the area at the time of the two cable breaks. The bulk carrier was sailing from the Russian port of Ust-Luga, where it had been anchored for several days.
On November 20, the Danish Armed Forces said they were present near the Yi Peng 3, but did not say whether they would chase the ship.
When asked about the ship at a press conference on November 20, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lam Kiem said he "did not know about the situation".
"China has always fully fulfilled its obligations as a flag-raising country and required Chinese vessels to strictly comply with relevant laws and regulations. We also attach great importance to protecting the safety of undersea infrastructure and cooperating with the international community to actively promote the construction and protection of underground cables as well as other global information infrastructure, the spokesperson emphasized.
