Sweden has formally requested assistance from authorities in China over a Chinese ship suspected of deliberately cutting data cables in the Baltic Sea.

Sweden has formally asked China to cooperate in explaining the recent rupture of two data cables on the Baltic Sea bed in an area where a China-flagged vessel had been sighted, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Thursday.

Sweden has sent a formal request to China to cooperate with an investigation into suspected sabotage over the sudden disruption of two submarine internet cables in the Baltic Sea earlier this month, after tracking data linked a Chinese ship to the incidents.