Taiwan's coast guard detained the freighter and its Chinese crew after a submarine cable in the Taiwan Strait was damaged on Tuesday.
“A further investigation needs to clarify whether the cause of the damage to the submarine cable was intentional sabotage or a simple accident,” CoastGuard said in a statement. “We cannot rule it out as China's invasion of the grey zone.”
“Grey zone” refers to antagonistic acts of interference that do not reach the war threshold.
Coast Guard He said he was warned early on Tuesday. Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom Company damaged the communications cable connecting Taiwan's main island in the Taiwan Strait to Peng.
The cargo ship was identified as nearby and a boat was sent from the Thaiwan Coast Guard to monitor it off the coast of Teinan city. He was then intercepted and escorted to the Amping Port just after noon. The footage provided by CoastGuard shows several officers on the cargo ship.
The ship is registered under the Togo flag, but the Taiwanese coast guard said it was probably a convenient flag, with all eight crew members being Chinese citizens. The ownership of the cargo ship is unknown. Tracking and registration data indicate at least three different vessel names related to the vessel's maritime identification number. The Coast Guard said the ship was “China-funded” but not elaborate. I have been contacted for explanation.
Chunghwa said the backup cable is now online and communications are not affected.
This is the latest submarine cable that has been damaged around Taiwan in recent years. In January, Taiwanese authorities investigated the Chinese-owned Cameroon-registered ship, Shunxing 39.
The Taiwanese coast guard had ordered the ship to return to Taiwan's seas for investigation, but the rough weather prevented them from boarding. Shunxing 39 has set sail for Korea.
In February 2023, it will damage two cables near Matsuijima, near mainland China. For several weeks, I left the resident without access to the internet. Two Chinese ships have been accused of cutting cables in two incidents, almost a week away. However, the government stopped calling it a deliberate act on behalf of Beijing.
Additional research by Jason Tzu Kuan Lu
