The Hong Kong-registered vessel NewNew Polar Bear was in the vicinity of two different Baltic Sea pipelines when they were damaged earlier in October, and has now become the focus of the police investigation.
The Chinese government has cautioned Finland and Estonia about an ongoing investigation into damage to undersea cables in the Baltic Sea, which authorities have described as ‘sabotage’.
It comes after Finnish police revealed that a Hong Kong-registered ship called the NewNew Polar Bear was sailing in the vicinity of the Finland-Estonia gas and communications pipeline when it was badly damaged in October.
I can list off half a dozen reasons but no evidence behind it.
Best one I have is proving their ability to attack a vulnerable node in global comms and logistics - a common target in modern warfare and this is only based on the knowledge this is a thing in a modern world.
And deep in Europe.
If they practiced trying to cut some random cable in the East China Sea it might raise suspicions, right? Maybe better to practice somewhere else.
Especially so close to an active war zone where another party could easily be blamed.