Coastguard teams from Taipei have detained a cargo ship with Chinese crew members after an undersea communications cable in the Taiwan Strait was damaged Tuesday, according to officials who stated they could not rule out deliberate sabotage, The Guardian reported
"Whether the cause of the undersea cable breakage was intentional sabotage or a simple accident remains to be clarified by further investigation," the coastguard said in a statement reported by The Guardian. "It cannot be ruled out that it was a grey-zone intrusion by China." China, which sees reunification with the island of Taiwan as a paramount goal, considers the government in Taipei to be illegitimate and views the island as a renegade province.
Video: Coast guard crews detain a Chinese-owned ship in the Taiwan Strait / Credit: Reuters
Taipei authorities were alerted early Tuesday by Chunghwa Telecom that a communications cable connecting the main island with Penghu in the Taiwan Strait had been severed, according to The Guardian. The incident marks the latest in a series of undersea cable damages around the island of Taiwan in recent years.
A coastguard spokesperson told The Guardian that areas near undersea cables had been under close surveillance by Taipei authorities. The cargo ship was detected on February 22 stopping "very close" to the Penghu cable, off Tainan city's coast. When coastguard vessels arrived at approximately 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, they observed the cargo ship had dropped anchor and began moving northwest about 30 minutes before Chunghwa Telecom reported the cable had been cut.
According to officials, the vessel ignored attempts to communicate via speaker and radio. The coastguard then intercepted the ship and escorted it to Anping port shortly after midday, with footage showing officers boarding the vessel.
While the ship sails under a Togolese flag, the coastguard indicated this was likely a flag of convenience, noting all eight crew members were Chinese nationals. The vessel's ownership remains unclear, with tracking data showing at least three different ship names associated with its maritime identification number. The coastguard described the vessel as "China-funded" without providing additional details.
This incident comes amid heightened vigilance from Taipei regarding suspicious maritime activity. Authorities have compiled a watchlist of more than 50 ships for close monitoring, which they believe are sailing under flags of convenience but are actually owned by Chinese companies. This list, first reported by Financial Times and later confirmed by The Guardian, includes vessels that have remained in or near Taiwan's territorial waters for extended periods.
Chunghwa Telecom stated that a backup cable had been activated, and communications were not affected by the damage. In January, island authorities investigated another incident involving a Chinese-owned, Cameroon-registered vessel, Shunxing 39, suspected of dragging its anchor and damaging a cable northeast of the island that connected to the United States. The coastguard ordered the vessel to return to Taiwanese waters for investigation but could not board due to rough weather conditions. The Shunxing 39 subsequently sailed to South Korea.
A similar incident occurred in February 2023 when damage to two cables near the outlying Matsu islands, close to mainland China, left residents without internet access for weeks. Two Chinese ships were identified as responsible for cutting the cables in separate incidents occurring nearly a week apart. However, Taipei stopped short of characterizing these as deliberate acts orchestrated by Beijing.
The term "grey zone" referenced by coastguard officials refers to hostile interference that falls below the threshold of warfare – a growing concern for Taiwan as tensions with China continue. The strategic importance of undersea communications infrastructure has received increased attention globally, with cables carrying the majority of international data traffic.
The response to these incidents reflects the island's broader security concerns regarding critical infrastructure protection. While Chunghwa Telecom confirmed that communications were maintained through backup systems, the repeated nature of these incidents has prompted enhanced monitoring protocols.
Maritime experts note that accidental damage to undersea cables is not uncommon, typically caused by fishing activities or improper anchoring. However, the specific patterns observed in recent incidents around Taiwan have raised concerns about potential deliberate actions targeting communications infrastructure.
As investigations continue, the coastguard has not released information about potential charges against the crew or the ship's ultimate disposition.
