Taiwan has detained the Chinese crew of a Togolese-registered freighter after an undersea communications cable connecting the main island to its offshore outpost of Penghu was severed, Bloombergg reports.
The Taiwan Coast Guard announced the detention of the eight crew members and the vessel on Tuesday. They are investigating whether the incident involved sabotage of the cable, which is critical for internet connectivity to Penghu Island. The Coast Guard noted that the freighter had previously lingered near the cable line.
The Taiwanese government has instructed Chunghwa Telecom to utilize nearby cables to maintain communication with Penghu Island, located some 30 miles west of Taiwan and 140 km from China.
The detention of Chinese nationals over a severed cable is a rare occurrence, highlighting the growing importance of undersea cable security for Taiwan and globally. Last month, Taiwan suspected a Chinese-owned cargo vessel of damaging an undersea cable near its northeastern coast. A similar incident involving a Chinese vessel damaging data cables in the Baltic Sea occurred in November.
When questioned about the Penghu cable incident during a regular press briefing in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian stated he was unfamiliar with the matter.
The integrity of undersea cables has become an increasingly prominent security concern for Taiwan, which China claims as its territory and has threatened to seize by force if necessary. In 2023, telecommunication services in Taiwan’s Matsu Islands were disrupted for months after Chinese fishing vessels severed its cables.
These incidents, alongside earthquakes, have prompted Taipei to accelerate efforts to bolster the archipelago’s resilience to communication breakdowns and direct attacks on its digital infrastructure.
