Taiwan’s coast guard detained a cargo ship and its Chinese crew amid an investigation into whether the vessel intentionally severed an undersea internet cable, marking the latest potential disruption to the island’s communications network.
Authorities suspect the ship damaged a cable linking Taiwan to its outlying Penghu Islands. The vessel, flying a “flag of convenience,” was manned by eight Chinese nationals, the coast guard said in a statement.
A “flag of convenience” refers to a ship registered under a foreign nation rather than its country of ownership.
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Identified as Hong Tai, the Togo-registered ship—funded by Chinese interests—had been stationed near the cable in waters off southwestern Taiwan since Saturday night, the statement said. The ship reportedly ignored multiple warnings from Taiwan’s coast guard.
Shortly after Hong Tai dropped anchor, Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan’s main telecommunications provider, detected the cable had been cut. The coast guard intercepted and boarded the vessel before escorting it to Tainan for further investigation.
Meanwhile, authorities have not ruled out the possibility of a Chinese “gray zone operation,” a tactic involving coercive or subversive actions below the threshold of open conflict. The coast guard stated that it remains unclear whether the incident was an act of deliberate sabotage or an accident, emphasizing that further investigation is needed. Authorities added that prosecutors are managing the case under national security protocols.
The recurring disruptions have heightened concerns that such “gray zone” activities could undermine Taiwan’s internet access and global communications, especially amid rising tensions with Beijing.
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