Taiwan accuses Chinese captain of cutting undersea cables
Photo: Taiwan accused Chinese captain of damaging cables (tradewindsnews.com)
A growing number of submarine cable faults have alarmed Taiwan amid tensions with China. The incidents are similar to those in the Baltic Sea, Reuters reports.
Taiwanese prosecutors have charged the captain of a Chinese vessel for the first time with intentionally damaging undersea cables off the island in February
The man was the captain of the Hong Tai 58, a Chinese-operated vessel registered in Togo, prosecutors said. Taiwanese authorities detained the captain on suspicion that the vessel had dropped anchor near an undersea cable off southwestern Taiwan, damaging it.
The Tainan City Prosecutor’s Office in southern Taiwan said it had charged the Chinese captain of the vessel, identified only by his surname Wang, with damaging the cable.
Wang has pleaded not guilty but refused to provide details of the vessel’s owner and acted defiantly, prosecutors said in a statement.
Prosecutors said seven other Chinese nationals detained at the same time would not be charged and would be extradited to China, adding that it was the island’s first case of damage to undersea cables.
Cable damage
Taiwan has recorded 5 cases of submarine cable failures this year, compared with three in 2024 and 2023, according to the Ministry of Digital Technology.
Taiwan’s coast guard has stepped up efforts to protect its submarine cables in recent months, including monitoring a blacklist of nearly 100 China-linked vessels registered in a country other than their owner’s country near Taiwan.
In January, Taiwan said it suspected a China-linked vessel of damaging an undersea cable off its northern coast.
Tensions in relations
Taiwan, which China claims as its territory, has repeatedly complained about China’s actions in the gray zone around the island aimed at exerting pressure without confrontation, such as balloon flights and sand dredging.
Taipei was alarmed this year after another Chinese-linked ship was suspected of damaging another cable. The navy and other agencies have stepped up efforts to protect the undersea communications lines that are vital to the island's links with the rest of the world.
Taiwan, whose government rejects Beijing's claims, has drawn parallels between the incidents and damage to undersea cables in the Baltic Sea following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
