STOCKHOLM, Oct 23 (Reuters) - The Estonian government believes that the damage to a telecommunications cable in the Baltic Sea between Sweden and Estonia is connected to the recent sabotage of a gas pipeline and cable connecting Estonia and Finland, according to a statement from Sweden's government on Monday.

On October 8, a subsea gas pipeline and telecommunications cable linking Finland and Estonia were intentionally damaged, as Finnish investigators suspect an act of deliberate sabotage. Investigations into the pipeline incident are underway in Helsinki, while Tallinn is focusing on the cable incident.

Adding to the concerns, Sweden reported last week that a third link had also been damaged concurrently with the previous two incidents.

Minister for Civil Defence, Carl-Oskar Bohlin, revealed that "the cable has been damaged through external force or tampering." Estonia has further assessed that the damage to the gas pipeline and communications cable between Finland and Estonia is linked to the damage inflicted on the communications cable between Sweden and Estonia.

No additional information has been provided on the specific details connecting the two incidents.

While it is still premature to draw definite conclusions, Estonia has established that the damage to the Finland-Estonia links was caused by deliberate human actions. Estonian State prosecutor Triinu Olev stated, "If we establish through procedural actions that the damage to the communication cable between Estonia and Sweden is also caused by human actions, we will expand the ongoing criminal proceedings to find out these circumstances as well."

Following the incidents, NATO has escalated patrols in the Baltic Sea, addressing concerns about energy supply security across the broader Nordic region. The alliance has deployed a mine-sweeping vessel and increased air surveillance.

Finnish investigators suspect the recent damage may have been an act of sabotage but have not determined whether it was intentional or accidental. The investigation into the damage of the Balticonnector gas pipeline and the nearby cable is currently focused on the role of the Chinese NewNew Polar Bear container vessel, as stated by Finland's National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

Responding to the investigation, a spokesperson from the Chinese foreign ministry has called for an "objective, fair, and professional" assessment of the damage, emphasizing that the Chinese vessel was sailing normally in the area at the time.

Estonian authorities, on the other hand, are looking into two ships, the NewNew Polar Bear and Russia's Sevmorput, as part of their investigation into the telecoms cable incidents. Russia has firmly denied any involvement in the damage.

In 2022, the larger Nord Stream gas pipelines, which run through the Baltic Sea between Russia and Germany, also suffered deliberate acts of sabotage in the form of explosions. However, the responsible party behind the attacks remains unclear.