Taiwan is investigating a Chinese-owned cargo ship that may have damaged an undersea internet cable northeast of the island.
Taiwan has asked South Korea for assistance investigating a Chinese-owned ship suspected of cutting a subsea cable off its northern coast on Friday.https://t.co/gA6XkRaELU
— Cornelius Dieckmann (@CoDieckmann) January 5, 2025
The Coast Guard said the incident involved a ship run by a Hong Kong company with seven Chinese crew members. The damage was found on Friday morning.
It affected the Trans-Pacific Express Cable, which connects Taiwan to South Korea, Japan, China, and the United States. However, communications were quickly rerouted, so there was no major outage. Later on Friday, the Coast Guard stopped a cargo ship near where several cables come ashore.
Is there a time limit for seizure of ships suspected of cutting sub comms cables? Taiwan "could not order its seizure for further investigation under international law, because too much time had passed since the incident, officials said." https://t.co/pZgS6XLadf via @ft
— James Kraska (@JamesKraska) January 5, 2025
They think this ship caused the damage. Taiwan relies on many cables for its internet connection. These cables can break if ships drag their anchors over them in the busy waters around Taiwan.
China’s rogue actions are a global threat. From Taiwan to Europe, Beijing’s deliberate sabotage of undersea cables is a blatant gray zone tactic that endangers global security. These actions must not only be condemned but also stopped.https://t.co/dHOzSLhdfj
— 王定宇 Wang Ting-yu, MP (@MPWangTingyu) January 8, 2025
It is hard to know if the damage was done on purpose. However, some experts think it could be part of China’s efforts to scare and pressure Taiwan.
Chinese cargo ship cable incident
The Chinese government may be following in Russia's footsteps by trying to clandestinely damage internet cables under the sea. Beijing's target is Taiwan. https://t.co/AcSfUCyuoa
— Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) January 7, 2025
The ship has denied doing anything wrong. Taiwan is still looking into what happened. They have asked for help from the ship’s next stop, a port in South Korea.
This is not the first time cables near Taiwan have been cut. In 2023, two Chinese ships were blamed for damaging cables near some outlying islands. Taiwan is worried about protecting these essential cables.
They want to find ways to keep the internet running even if some cables are cut. The incident adds to the tensions between Taiwan and China. China claims Taiwan as its own and has vowed to take control of it.
Taiwan sees itself as a separate country. This disagreement has led to various forms of pressure from China against the island.
