Taiwan’s coastguard has detained a cargo ship and its Chinese crew following damage to an undersea communications cable in the Taiwan Strait. The authorities are investigating whether the incident was an accidental breakage or a deliberate act.
According to the Taiwanese coastguard, they received an alert from Chunghwa Telecom in the early hours of Tuesday, reporting damage to a key communication cable linking Taiwan’s main island with Penghu.
Incident Details
- On February 22, the cargo ship was detected stopping near the Penghu cable, off the coast of Tainan.
- At 2:30 AM on Tuesday, Taiwan’s coastguard vessels were deployed after noticing the vessel had dropped anchor in the area.
- The ship began moving north-west about 30 minutes before the cable breakage was reported.
- Attempts to communicate via speaker and radio went unanswered.
- The ship was later intercepted and escorted to Anping port, where further investigations are underway.
Authorities continue to monitor undersea cable zones closely to ensure the protection of vital communication infrastructure.
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Source: The Guardian
