Taiwan’s coastguard has detained a Chinese-owned vessel suspected of damaging an undersea internet cable, causing limited disruption to services. The Shunxing 39, registered in Cameroon but reportedly owned by a Hong Kong company with links to mainland China, was briefly detained on Friday after being accused of dragging its anchor over the international subsea cable north-east of Taiwan.
Taiwan’s Chunghwa Telecom reported that services were mostly uninterrupted and data was quickly rerouted to other cables. The incident is being treated as a possible act of sabotage, and Taiwan’s coastguard is collating evidence and referring the case to the district prosecutor’s office for investigation.
The Shunxing 39 turned off its automatic identification systems after being ordered by the coastguard, but marine tracking data shows it last transmitted its location on Friday morning in the vicinity of the cable. The vessel had operated under at least two different flags and two sets of AIS, raising suspicions about a Chinese flag-of-convenience ship engaging in grey-zone harassment.
This incident is the latest among dozens of undersea cable cuttings around Taiwan in recent years. China’s government has vowed to annex Taiwan and has waged a campaign of military, legal, and cognitive harassment against the island’s government and people. The damage to undersea cables is seen as a key vulnerability in Taiwan’s critical infrastructure defence against Chinese attacks.
Taiwan’s government has convened emergency meetings to review protection and response measures on submarine cable damage. Experts say that cutting these cables is a real concern, given China’s aggressive actions, and it has prompted Taiwanese interest in independent control or assured reliability of satellite communications.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/07/taiwan-investigating-chinese-vessel-over-damage-to-undersea-cable