Web Stories Thursday, January 16

China has accused Taiwan’s ruling party of having “deliberately hyped” the incident involving the Cameroon-flagged ship.

Koo and several other ministers were questioned by legislators on Thursday over the incident, which has fuelled concerns about the security of the island’s telecoms cables.

The world’s data and communications are carried across oceans by great bundles of undersea fibre optic cables – with their high strategic value making them potential targets for attack.

In February 2023, two such telecom lines serving Taiwan’s outlying Matsu archipelago were cut, disrupting communications for weeks.

Taiwan has 14 international underwater cables and 10 domestic ones.

In a report submitted to legislators, the National Security Bureau said suspicious ships carrying flags of convenience sailing within 44km of Taiwan and close to its undersea cables would be “prioritised” for boarding and inspection.

“In recent years, incidents of undersea cable breakage due to external damage have occurred frequently, highlighting the importance of strengthening the resilience of undersea cables and establishing backup systems,” the bureau said, describing it as a “major issue affecting our national security”.

In the future, the coast guard would relay reports of damaged undersea cables to prosecutors “immediately after preliminary investigation”, the coast guard said in a separate report to lawmakers.

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