{"id":2323195,"date":"2024-08-12T14:48:02","date_gmt":"2024-08-12T18:48:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/chinese-ship-responsible-for-baltic-pipeline-damage-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-08-12T14:53:50","modified_gmt":"2024-08-12T18:53:50","slug":"chinese-ship-responsible-for-baltic-pipeline-damage-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/chinese-ship-responsible-for-baltic-pipeline-damage-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Chinese ship responsible for Baltic pipeline damage &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fchinese-ship-responsible-for-baltic-pipeline-damage-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2323195&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A report has surfaced regarding damage \u200dto an undersea pipeline \u200dconnecting Finland and Estonia, which has been linked to a Chinese-owned ship. Estonian officials have noted that\u2064 China \u200dhas not responded to a legal \u2063aid request aimed at gathering evidence from the vessel involved in\u200d the incident. It has been reported that Chinese authorities acknowledged the ship&#8217;s involvement in the pipeline damage\u200c but characterized the incident as accidental, caused by \u200ba storm. However, European officials express\u2063 skepticism about this explanation, suggesting the damage appeared deliberate due\u200d to the evidence found on\u2064 the seafloor.\u200c The incident\u2062 has raised concerns \u200babout the vulnerability of undersea infrastructures amid allegations of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/china-penetrating-electrical-grids-nato-ally-spy-agency-warns\/\" title=\"NATO ally spy agency warns of China&#039;s infiltration into electrical grids\">hybrid warfare tactics<\/a> \u200breminiscent of Russian strategies. The situation reflects broader\u200b geopolitical\u200d tensions, particularly with China&#8217;s support for Russia in the context of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Chinese-owned ship &lsquo;unintentionally&rsquo; behind Baltic pipeline damage: Report<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/china\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>China<\/a> has not answered &ldquo;a legal aid request&rdquo; from <a href=\"https:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/nato\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>NATO<\/a> allies investigating the damage done to an undersea pipeline linking <a href=\"https:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/finland\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Finland<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/estonia\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Estonia<\/a> last year, according to Estonian officials, following a report that Beijing acknowledged the involvement of a Chinese-owned ship.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We submitted a legal aid request to the Chinese authorities to gather evidence from the vessel and its crew,&rdquo; Kairi K&uuml;ngas, who leads the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-york-times-reporter-resigns-amid-allegations-he-used-a-racial-slur-in-2019-ignore-context-and-intent\/\" title=\"New York Times Reporter Resigns Amid Allegations He Used A Racial Slur In 2019, Ignore Context And Intent\">public relations department<\/a> of the Estonian prosecutor&rsquo;s office, said Monday. &ldquo;The Chinese authorities have not provided a response on executing the legal aid request as of yet.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Baltic investigators have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aei.org\/foreign-and-defense-policy\/finland-identifies-pipeline-sabotage-ship\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>assessed<\/a> that the damage, which Estonian officials regarded as a &ldquo;man-made disaster&rdquo; redolent of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/russia\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Russia\">Russia<\/a>&rsquo;s hybrid warfare tactics, was caused by the anchor from a Chinese-owned vessel. Chinese authorities reportedly have acknowledged the ship&rsquo;s involvement and described the incident as unintentional.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The South China Morning Post understands that the Chinese authorities conducted an internal investigation and recently communicated the results to governments in the European countries,&rdquo; the Hong Kong-based media outlet <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/news\/china\/diplomacy\/article\/3274120\/china-admits-hong-hong-flagged-ship-destroyed-key-baltic-gas-pipeline-accident?module=top_story&amp;pgtype=homepage\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>reported<\/a> on Monday. &ldquo;The Chinese-language report said the accident was the result of a strong storm.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Finland and Estonia avoided confirming the transmission of those results, giving guarded statements about their dialogues with Beijing.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We constantly cooperate with China and exchange information, but we do not go into details because the investigation is still in progress,&rdquo; Estonian Foreign Affairs Minister Elina Valtonen <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/news\/china\/diplomacy\/article\/3274120\/china-admits-hong-hong-flagged-ship-destroyed-key-baltic-gas-pipeline-accident?module=top_story&amp;pgtype=homepage\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>said<\/a> Monday.<\/p>\n<p>Chinese officials <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/markets\/commodities\/china-calls-fair-gas-pipeline-damage-probe-by-finland-2023-10-23\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>emphasized<\/a> &ldquo;the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/disaster-as-bidens-gaza-pier-washes-away-us-navy-ships-run-aground-trying-to-retrieve-it\/\" title=\"Biden&#039;s Gaza Pier Disaster: US Navy Ships Grounded during Retrieval Attempt\">poor sea conditions<\/a> at the time&rdquo; in the first weeks after the incident, which took place in October 2023. Yet senior European officials have cast doubt on the idea that the damage could have been inflicted accidentally, given the extent of the <a href=\"https:\/\/poliisi.fi\/sv\/-\/centralkriminalpolisen-har-tekniskt-klarlagt-vad-gasrorets-skada-orsakats-av?languageId=en_US\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>&ldquo;wide dragging trail&rdquo;<\/a> of an anchor found on the seafloor near the pipeline.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not the sea captain. But I would think that you would notice that you&rsquo;re dragging an anchor behind you for hundreds of kilometers,&rdquo; Finnish European Affairs Minister Anders Adlercreutz <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.eu\/article\/balticconnector-damage-likely-to-be-intentional-finnish-minister-says-china-estonia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>said<\/a> in December.&nbsp;&ldquo;I think everything indicates that it was intentional. But of course, so far, nobody has admitted to it.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>China has emerged as an indispensable patron of Russia during the war in Ukraine, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3076975\/china-enabler-russia-war-ukraine-nato\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>according<\/a> to NATO, particularly through support for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/foreign-policy\/2956150\/us-warns-nato-china-helped-russia-reconstitute-militarily\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>its defense industry<\/a>. Baltic analysts have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2615825\/nord-stream-leak-suggests-russia-can-use-environmental-warfare-against-west\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>worried<\/a> about the security of undersea cables and pipelines for years, but their vulnerability took on a new salience in 2022, with the destruction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/1393437\/germany-nord-stream-2-certification-suspended-wont-resume-if-russia-attacks-ukraine\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>dormant yet controversial<\/a> Russian project to transport natural gas to Germany without having to use pipeline networks that pass through Ukrainian territory.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Western officials have said they <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/03\/07\/us\/politics\/nord-stream-pipeline-sabotage-ukraine.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>believe<\/a> &ldquo;a pro-Ukrainian group carried out the attack,&rdquo; according to the <em>New York Times<\/em>. Sweden and Denmark <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/02\/07\/world\/europe\/sweden-nord-stream-pipeline.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>closed<\/a> their investigations without identifying a perpetrator, while Russian officials accused the United States of orchestrating the incident.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>China&rsquo;s reported assessment was not sent to the Estonian prosecutor&rsquo;s office, according to Kungas, who implied that a document of the sort reportedly transmitted &ldquo;can&rsquo;t be used as evidence in an Estonian criminal investigation.&rdquo; Finnish officials likewise emphasized the need for &ldquo;legal assistance&rdquo; from China.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It must be stated that the investigation is still ongoing, and final conclusions [regarding] what was behind these incidents (technical failure, negligence\/poor seamanship, deliberate act), can be made only after all necessary investigative measures have been finalized, and this will still take some time,&rdquo; Anna Zareff, communications director for the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation, <a href=\"https:\/\/news.err.ee\/1609422658\/china-admits-container-ship-newnew-polar-bear-damaged-undersea-gas-pipeline\">said<\/a> Monday.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Chinese-owned vessel was reportedly involved in the damage to an undersea pipeline connecting Finland and Estonia, which occurred last year. Estonian officials have stated that China has not yet responded to a &#8220;legal aid request&#8221; from NATO allies looking into the incident. Kairi K\u00fcngas, head of public relations at the Estonian prosecutor&#8217;s office, mentioned on Monday that they had reached out to Chinese authorities for evidence related to the ship and its crew but had received no reply. Investigators in the Baltic region believe that what Estonian officials describe as a &#8220;man-made disaster,&#8221; reminiscent of Russia&#8217;s hybrid warfare tactics, was caused by an anchor from this Chinese-owned vessel. Reports indicate that Chinese authorities have acknowledged their ship&#8217;s involvement but characterized it as unintentional. The South China Morning Post noted that China conducted an internal investigation and shared its findings with European governments, attributing the accident to severe weather conditions during October 2023 when it occurred.<\/p>\n<p>Both Finland and Estonia refrained from confirming whether they received these findings, opting instead for cautious statements regarding their communications with Beijing. Estonian Foreign Affairs Minister Elina Valtonen remarked on Monday about ongoing cooperation with China while withholding specific details due to the ongoing investigation. In initial responses after the incident, Chinese officials pointed out &#8220;poor sea conditions&#8221; at that time; however, senior European leaders expressed skepticism about whether such extensive damage could be accidental given evidence of a significant dragging trail left by an anchor near the pipeline site.<\/p>\n<p>Finnish European Affairs Minister Anders Adlercreutz suggested in December that it would be hard not to notice dragging an anchor over long distances and implied intentionality behind the act since no one has claimed responsibility thus far. NATO has identified China as a crucial ally for Russia amid its conflict in Ukraine, particularly concerning support for Russia\u2019s defense sector.<\/p>\n<p>Concerns regarding undersea cables and pipelines&#8217; security have been prevalent among Baltic analysts for years; however, these worries intensified following last year&#8217;s destruction of Nord Stream 2\u2014a contentious Russian project aimed at transporting natural gas directly to Germany without traversing Ukrainian territory\u2014leading Western officials to suspect involvement by a pro-Ukrainian group in those attacks.<\/p>\n<p>Sweden and Denmark concluded their investigations without identifying any suspects while Russian officials accused U.S. entities of orchestrating those incidents. According to Kungas from Estonia\u2019s prosecutor\u2019s office, China&#8217;s assessment report was not sent directly there; he indicated such documents would not serve as valid evidence within an Estonian criminal inquiry process. Finnish authorities also stressed their need for legal assistance from China moving forward with this case: \u201cThe investigation is still ongoing,\u201d said Anna Zareff from Finland&#8217;s National Bureau of Investigation; final conclusions regarding potential causes\u2014be they technical failure or deliberate action\u2014will only emerge once all investigative steps are completed<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2743,"featured_media":2323196,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/estonia-foreign-minister.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[37911,37910,9471,4133,32076],"class_list":["post-2323195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-baltic-pipeline","tag-chinese-ship","tag-damage","tag-news","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/estonia-foreign-minister.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2323195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2743"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2323195"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2323195\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2323196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2323195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2323195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2323195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}