DIGITAL LIFE
Taiwan’s coast guard said it detained a Chinese-linked cargo ship on Tuesday after an undersea cable near the Penghu Islands in the Taiwan Strait was disconnected.
Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has repeatedly complained about Chinese “grey zone” activities around the island designed to exert pressure without direct confrontation, such as balloon flights and sand dredging.
Taipei was alarmed after a Chinese-linked ship was suspected of damaging another cable earlier this year, prompting the navy and other agencies to step up efforts to protect undersea communications links that are vital to the island’s connections with the rest of the world.
The coast guard said it dispatched three vessels to detain the Chinese-crewed Hong Tai 58, registered in Togo, which was anchored near the offshore cable off Taiwan’s southwest coast at the time it was disconnected.
The vessel is a China-linked vessel flying a flag of convenience, the coast guard said, meaning it is registered in a different country than its owner. “All eight crew members are Chinese nationals and (we) do not rule out the possibility of Chinese harassment activity in the gray zone,” the coastal authority said in a statement, adding that further investigation was needed. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Reuters was unable to locate a contact for the ship’s owner. Communications between Taiwan and other offshore islands, including Penghu, were not affected after services were rerouted to other cables, the digital ministry said. A senior Taiwanese security official, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, told Reuters that the government was treating the case as a matter of national security. “It is beyond the normal scope,” the official said, pointing to the course of the vessel, which has remained in waters southwest of Taiwan since Saturday (February 22) and has not responded to repeated calls from the coast guard. Taiwan has reported five cases of offshore cable malfunctions this year, compared with three in 2024 and 2023, according to the digital ministry.
In 2023, two undersea cables connecting the Matsu Islands were cut, disconnecting the internet. Taiwanese authorities said two Chinese ships caused the disruption, but there was no evidence that Beijing deliberately tampered with the cables. The Togolese-flagged vessel Hongtai was “escorted” to Taiwan, and the case is being “handled in accordance with national security principles,” the coast guard said in a statement. Taiwan’s Chunghwa Telecom reported the disconnection of the cable linking the strategic island of Penghu to Taiwan on Tuesday morning, the digital ministry said.
“An investigation is expected to clarify whether the cause of the undersea cable cut was an act of intentional sabotage or a simple accident,” the coast guard added. The vessel was carrying eight Chinese crew members and was funded by China, he added. The coast guards did not rule out the possibility of a deliberate intrusion by China. "The coast guard will cooperate with prosecutors in the investigation and do everything possible to clarify the truth," they said.
The old Chinese excuse...The Chinese government accused Taipei on Wednesday of manipulating Beijing's alleged involvement in the recent rupture of an undersea cable linking the main island of Taiwan to the Pescadores archipelago.
The spokeswoman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council (China's executive branch), Zhu Fenglian, described the incident at a press conference as an "ordinary maritime accident" and accused the authorities of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), in power in Taiwan, of "deliberately exaggerating and politicizing" the incident without first clarifying "the facts and responsibilities".
However, the spokeswoman stressed that "more than a hundred similar incidents occur every year around the world", downplaying the importance of the incident.
"This kind of political manipulation is unpopular and will not win public support", said Zhu, referring to the position of the Taiwanese authorities.
The island's authorities consider the submarine cable cuts to be part of China's "grey zone" activities (aggressive actions by a state, but without engaging in open warfare) aimed at putting pressure on the Taiwanese government, currently led by William Lai Ching-te, considered a "separatist" and an "agitator" by the Beijing authorities.
The incident occurred around 3:00 am on Tuesday (7:00 pm on Monday, in Lisbon), when the CGA received a report from Chungwha Telecom, Taiwan's largest telecommunications company, indicating that the third submarine line connecting Taiwan to Pescadores (or Penghu in Chinese) had broken about six nautical miles (11.1 kilometers) northwest of the port of Jiangjun, in the south of the island. According to the CGA, the Hong Tai was anchored in this same position, located just 0.5 nautical miles north of the route of the third submarine cable, since 7:10 pm (11:10 am in Lisbon) on February 22.
Chungwha Telecom stated that there was “no impact” on communications services after the rupture. The telecommunications company stressed that it will present evidence of the incident to the courts “to claim compensation in accordance with the law” and stated that the repair of the damaged cable could be completed “by May at the latest”.
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