'Chinese' ship 'severs' undersea cable off coast of Taiwan in latest 'sabotage' incident across South China Sea
China does NOT want a war with Taiwan but will use ‘trade as potent a weapon as their military'
GB News
A Chinese-linked ship has allegedly damaged an undersea telecommunications cable off Taiwan's coast, in the latest incident of suspected infrastructure sabotage.
The damage occurred near Yehliu, New Taipei City on Friday, when the Shunxin-39 - a freighter registered in Cameroon but believed to be Chinese-owned - reportedly cut an international undersea cable near Keelung Harbor.
Chunghwa Telecom confirmed the incident but assured that backup equipment would prevent any disruption to telecommunications within Taiwan.
Taiwan's Coast Guard dispatched a vessel after receiving reports of the incident, locating the Shunxin-39 approximately 13km north of Yehliu at 4:40pm (local time) on Friday.
Shunxin-39 - a freighter registered in Cameroon but believed to be Chinese-owned - reportedly cut an international undersea cable near Keelung Harbor
Taiwan National Coast Guard Administration
The Coast Guard demanded the vessel return to waters near Keelung Harbor for examination.
Investigations revealed that four cores of the international cable had been scrambled.
Tracking data from the ship's automatic identification system and satellite signals showed the Shunxin-39 had pulled its anchor near the location where the cable was destroyed.
Poor weather conditions prevented officials from boarding the vessel, though they spoke briefly with the captain.
Under international law, authorities were eventually forced to allow the ship to continue its journey to South Korea.
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The Coast Guard demanded the vessel return to waters near Keelung Harbor for examination
Taiwan Coast Guard
Despite flying a Cameroon flag, Taiwan officials believe the vessel is Chinese-owned.
The ship is reportedly owned by Jie Yang Trading Limited, a Hong Kong-registered company.
The company's sole listed director is a mainland Chinese man named Guo Wenjie, according to officials.
Kuma Academy chief executive officer Ho Cheng-hui noted that while the incident remains under investigation, China has an extensive history of using various maritime tactics to sabotage Taiwanese infrastructure.
Ho suggested the incident might be a Chinese attempt to test international response limits as part of its "grey zone" tactics.
Beijing maintains its claim over Taiwan as its territory and has not ruled out using force to achieve control
Reuters
Ho said Taiwan is responding to such threats by working to launch its own low and medium Earth orbit satellites.
The initiative aims to increase telecommunications resilience against potential infrastructure attacks.
The incident comes amid heightened tensions, following President Xi Jinping's New Year's Eve statement that "no one can stop" unification with Taiwan.
China has intensified pressure on the breakaway island in recent years, staging three major military drills since President Lai Ching-te took office in May.
Beijing maintains its claim over Taiwan as its territory and has not ruled out using force to achieve control.
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