TAIPEI: Taiwan detained a Chinese-crewed cargo ship on Tuesday (Feb 25) after a subsea telecoms cable was severed off the island, the coast guard said.
It is the latest in a series of Taiwanese undersea cable breakages, with previous incidents blamed on natural causes or Chinese ships.
Taiwan’s Chunghwa Telecom reported the cable between Penghu, a strategic island group in the sensitive Taiwan Strait, and Taiwan was disconnected early on Tuesday, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said.
The Togolese-registered ship Hongtai was intercepted in the area and escorted back to Taiwan, the coast guard said.
The case was being “handled in accordance with national security-level principles”, it added.
“Whether the cause of the undersea cable breakage was intentional sabotage or a simple accident remains to be clarified by further investigation,” the coast guard said.
The Hongtai, using a flag of convenience, was crewed by eight Chinese nationals and had Chinese funding, it said.
Flags of convenience allow shipping companies to register their vessels in countries to which they have no link – for a fee and freedom from oversight.
China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring it under its control.
And Taiwan fears China could sever its communication links as part of an attempt to seize the island or blockade it.
“It cannot be ruled out that it was a grey zone intrusion by China,” the coast guard said, referring to actions that fall short of an act of war.
“The coast guard will cooperate with the prosecutors in the investigation and make every effort to clarify the truth.”
Members of the crew were still being questioned by prosecutors on Tuesday evening, a coast guard official told AFP.
China’s foreign ministry said it was “not aware” of the situation.
