The Taiwanese government alleged that a Chinese-owned vessel cut an underwater internet cable in an act of sabotage.
The incident occurred on Friday when a Hong Kong-owned and Cameroon-flagged cargo ship, Shunxing 39, was discovered cutting an undersea communications cable connecting the island nation with the wider world, according to the Wall Street Journal. Chunghwa Telecom, the government-owned state telecommunications company, said that internet service was largely unaffected.
The vessel had been operating off the northern coast of Taiwan for two weeks. After the Taiwanese Coast Guard was alerted, it was apprehended following a nine-hour hunt.
Weather conditions prevented a team from boarding the ship, but it collected radar and navigation data for further investigation. It was discovered that several crew members were Chinese nationals.
The Shunxing 39 was then released, heading off to South Korea.
“While its intentions remain unclear, it couldn’t be ruled out the possibility of a Chinese provisional vessel conducting gray zone harassment,” the Coast Guard said, per the outlet.
Herming Chiueh, deputy head of Taiwan’s digital ministry, reportedly said that the chances of the sabotage being an accident were near zero.
“You need to accidentally [drop your] anchor on the cable, and then you need to accidentally turn on your engine with the anchor down, and even [if] you realize your anchor is down, you need to keep the engine moving until you cut the cable,” Chiueh said.
Vessels that have cut undersea cables in previous incidents did so by dragging their anchors along the seabed.
Authorities connected the apparent sabotage with wider efforts by Beijing to isolate, harass, and demoralize Taiwan into accepting Chinese dominion.
The incident highlights the fragility of communications infrastructure both in the island nation and concerning countries across the globe. It comes on the heels of incidents in the Baltic Sea where undersea cables were cut, allegedly by a Chinese vessel.
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The global internet relies on undersea cables connecting the different continents, a vulnerable and tempting target for espionage. The sheer length of the cables makes them nearly impossible to defend.
Taiwan has explored contingency plans to fall back on if its communications cables are cut, including satellites and microwave options.
