British News Agency

The ship, identified by Denmark as Yi Peng 3, passed near the two cables on Sunday and Monday, at the time they were suspected to have been severed in a malicious attack. The vessel has been in waters between Sweden and Denmark and has since been followed by a Danish navy ship.

The Danish Defense Command stated: "The Danish Defense can confirm that we were in the area near the Chinese ship Yi Peng 3. The Danish Defense currently has no further comments."

Swedish authorities confirmed their interest in the ship but provided no further details.

Swedish underwater search teams on Wednesday attempted to collect evidence at the site of the Finland-Germany cable. A cable between Sweden and Lithuania was also damaged.

Swedish police said the Chinese ship off Denmark's coast is part of their investigation. "It's part of the area of interest, but there could be more," said Per Engström of Sweden's National Operations Department.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said, "China, as a flag state, has consistently and fully fulfilled its obligations and requires Chinese ships to strictly comply with relevant laws and regulations."