cross-posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/17915560
Taiwan suspects a Chinese-owned cargo vessel damaged an undersea cable near its northeastern coast Friday, in an alleged act of sabotage that highlights the vulnerabilities of Taipei’s offshore communications infrastructure.
The ship is owned by a Hong Kong-registered company whose director is a mainland Chinese citizen, the Financial Times reported Sunday. An unidentified Taiwanese official cited in the report described the case as sabotage.
The incident followed another Chinese vessel’s suspected involvement in the breakages of data cables in the Baltic Sea in November. While fishing trawlers are known to sometimes damage such equipment, nation states have also been accused of deliberate sabotage, although it can be difficult to prove.
“This is why Taiwan needs to build its telecommunication resilience, and strengthen its situation awareness in the surrounding waters,” said Sheu Jyh-shyang, assistant research fellow at Taiwan’s Institute of National Defense and Security Research. “Otherwise, the system would be easily undermined, and it would be difficult to hold the suspect accountable.”
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The damage didn’t affect connection because data was immediately rerouted to other cables, Taiwan’s Chunghwa Telecom Co. said in a Saturday statement. The company co-owns the cable system along with the AT&T Inc. in the US and regional operators including Japan’s Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp. and China Telecom Corp., according to the FT.
Taiwan has asked South Korea for help with the investigation as the ship is due to arrive in Busan in the coming days, according to a Taiwanese national security official.
The integrity of undersea cables has been a rising security concern in Taiwan, which China claims as its territory and has threatened to take with force if necessary. As recently as in 2023, telecommunication services in Taiwan’s Matsu Islands were disrupted for months after Chinese fishing vessels cut the cables.
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