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Estonia says China has actually not reacted to subsea cables probe request

Estonia's state prosecutor said China has actually not responded to a sixmonthold request for aid with an examination into a Chinese ship which Estonia suspects cut two of its subsea telecoms cables.

The two cable televisions linking Estonia to Finland and Sweden were damaged on Oct. 7-8, and an Estonia-Finland gas pipeline was broken in what Finnish private investigators think might have been sabotage, hurting energy security and raising alarm bells in the larger region.

Both Estonia, which is investigating the cables damage, and Finland, checking out the Balticconnector gas pipeline, have named the Hong Kong-registered container ship NewNew Polar Bear as the prime suspect.

The Chinese authorities have actually not offered a response on executing the legal aid request as of yet, Estonian state district attorney Triinu Olev said in a declaration on Tuesday.

We need to gather additional proof to figure out whether the damage was triggered deliberately or by accident, she stated.

China's foreign ministry stated Chinese authorities were investigating and managing the cases.

We will actively study requests for judicial assistance according to domestic laws and appropriate treaties, ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a regular news instruction on Wednesday.

The demand was sent out on Nov. 10, Olev's spokesperson informed in December, while a separate legal assistance request was sent out to China by the Finnish examination.

has actually reported that the Chinese vessel existed at all 3 sites around the time of their damage, on its way to a. port near St Petersburg, Russia, according to data from. MarineTraffic, a ship-tracking and maritime analytics service provider.

A large anchor, believed to belong to the Chinese vessel,. was discovered near the pipeline, and detectives said the pipe and. telecoms cables were most likely broken as the anchor was dragged. across the sea bed.

Finland's National Bureau of Investigation told last. month it had worked together with Chinese authorities in solving. the damage to the pipeline and there was development in the probe.

Russia has dismissed as rubbish the concept that it was. involved.

NewNew Polar Bear has been anchored in China's Tianjin port. because returning from Russia in December, according to. MarineTraffic data.

NATO stepped up its patrols in the Baltic Sea in 2015. after the incidents, and the Norwegian Navy shadowed the NewNew. Polar Bear as it cruised over the nation's crucial gas pipelines.

(source: Reuters)