According to Taiwanese authorities, a Chinese ship recently severed an undersea fiber optic cable connecting to Taiwan. This incident is one of many acts of sabotage targeting critical infrastructure on a global scale. Not long ago, another Chinese ship was accused of anchoring and cutting the Baltic Sea cable.
Reported by The Wall Street Journal, the Chinese Communist Party has long been pressuring Taiwan. This action is seen as part of their “grey zone tactics,” which include a range of methods from military exercises to cyberattacks.
Last Friday, Taiwan’s Chunghwa Telecom received an alarm of cable disruption near Keelung Port, and investigation revealed that a Hong Kong-registered cargo ship flying the flag of Cameroon was dragging the cable. The ship had seven Chinese crew members on board. Taiwan’s Coast Guard dispatched patrol boats to track the suspected vessel for nine hours, but due to severe weather, they were unable to board and inspect the ship. The suspect vessel “SHUNXIN39” later headed to Busan, South Korea, and Taiwan’s Coast Guard has informed the Korean authorities. The ship was also found to be using two Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) in an attempt to hide its movements.
The Taiwan Coast Guard believes that the incident may be part of the Chinese Communist Party’s grey zone operations. Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Digital Development, Chueh He-ming, emphasized that the cable damage would require “multiple consecutive operational errors,” making it unlikely to be an accident. He also pointed out that if the suspect ship returns to China, tracking it will be even more difficult.
According to retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Ray Powell, who is the head of Stanford University’s “SeaLight” project, the ship has used at least two different names, two different flags, and six different identification numbers in the past six months.
Powell stated that the goal of the Chinese Communist Party is to weaken the confidence of the Taiwanese people through such incidents, forcing them to accept Beijing’s conditions without shedding blood. Taiwan views this as a new form of grey zone tactics aimed at disrupting Taiwan’s communication infrastructure to gain an advantage in military or diplomatic pressure.
Last year, two undersea cables connecting to Matsu were severed by a Chinese fishing boat and a cargo ship, causing several weeks of disruption in internet services.
Similar acts of sabotage are becoming increasingly common in European waters.
In October 2023, a Hong Kong-registered cargo ship “New Arctic Bear” was suspected of cutting natural gas pipelines and fiber optic cables in the Baltic Sea before sailing to Russia.
In November 2023, two Baltic Sea undersea fiber optic cables were severed in Swedish waters, and the offending vessel was identified as the Chinese cargo ship “Yi Peng 3.”
During the Christmas holidays, Finland suspected an oil tanker carrying Russian oil of cutting its domestic cables.
Taiwan is working to enhance network resilience, exploring backup options such as low-orbit satellites and microwave communications. Taiwan is currently in discussions with Amazon’s “Kuiper Project” to explore potential cooperation. The project is considered one of the most mature low-orbit satellite technologies.
The Taiwan Ministry of Digital Development has held discussions with European experts on protecting undersea cables and researching rapid response strategies for acts of sabotage. Director of the Taiwan National Science Council Wu Cheng-wen said, “Even in the face of any form of provocation, Taiwan must ensure a continued stable network connection.”