Taiwan holds the freight ship linked to China after the underlined cable disconnected

The Coast Guard in Taiwan detained a commodity ship related to China, after a nearby underlining cable to the Penghu Islands in the Taiwan sensitive strait was disconnected.

The Coast Guard said he sent three ships to hold Hong Tai 58, created by the Chinese, which is recorded in Togo, after receiving an alert that the third underlining cable in Taiwan-Penghu was cut.

The crews climbed on the freight ship after being found anchored and blocked during the period when the cable was disconnected.

It is suspected that the ship has towed the submarine cable, but an investigation is ongoing.

The case was managed with the highest level of national security, said the Coast Guard and was under the command of the Tainan District Protecutor.

Communications between Taiwan and other offshore islands, including Penghu, were not affected after the services were redirected to other cables, the Digital Ministry said.

Taipei was alarmed after a Chinese ship was suspected of deteriorating another cable earlier this year, which determined Marina and other agencies to intensify efforts to protect submarine communication links.

Taiwan, whom China claims as his own territory, repeatedly complained of Chinese activities the “gray area” around the island, which are designed to press it without direct confrontation.

The ship blocked for days

The Coast Guard said that the ship he held is a ship related to Chinese transporting a comfort flag, which means it was registered in a country other than its owner.

“All eight crew members are Chinese nationals and (we) do not exclude the possibility of Chinese harassment activity in the gray area,” the Coast Guard said in a statement, adding that an additional investigation was required.

The Coast Guard in Taiwan said that the ship was blocked at 6 miles (11 kilometers) northwest of the Jiangjun fishing port, between February 22-25.

At that time, the Coast Guard notified the Port Signal Station to broadcast seven times, but received no answer.

“The appearance of the ship was” Hongtai 168, “he said.

“After communicating with the radio ship, he replied that the ship was Hongtai 168, but Ais showed” Hongtai 58 “.

The Coast Guard said after coordinated with the maritime desk and port to provide a ship chair, the ship was escorted back to the Anping Port.

The Coast Guard said that he received the “initial decision of Chungghwa Telecom according to which she was suspected of external damages.”

Additional investigations were required to determine whether the disturbance of the submarine cable was caused by intentional sabotage or a simple accident, according to the coastal guard.

“It cannot be excluded that it was an intrusion operation in the gray area by China,” he said.

Incidents in underground underground cable in the region

The Taiwan reported five cases of defects of the sea cable this year, compared to three each in 2024 and 2023, according to the Digital Ministry.

In 2023, two underline cables were cut that connect the Matsu islands, disconnecting the Internet. Taiwan authorities have said that two Chinese ships have caused the disturbance, but that there is no evidence to demonstrate Beijing deliberately, they have deliberately modified with the cables.

In January, an underline cable on the Northeast Coast of Taiwan was damaged, and the authorities said that a freight ship in Cameroon is probably the culprit.

That ship, Shunxin-39, is owned by an entity in Hong Kong, with ties with continental China, according to the Coast Guard in Taiwan.

Ho Cheng-Hui, the executive director of the non-profit civil defense organization in Taiwan, Kuma Academy, said the incident was part of a wider strategy of China to test the limits of international tolerance through gray tactics, according to Taipei. Times.

“China has a history of Taiwan’s infrastructure to probe the international responses,” he said.

In the Baltic Sea, numerous underlining cables have been damaged in recent months, some believing that this is a form of Russian sabotage and a form of shade.