Taiwan cable severed: Suspicions point to China amidst tensions

Taiwan suspects China is responsible for cutting the international undersea telecommunications cable on Friday morning, reports Politico. According to Taiwanese media, the cargo ship Shunxin-39, registered in Cameroon, was intercepted by the country's coast guard about 13 kilometres from Taiwan's northern coast on Friday afternoon and ordered to return closer to shore for investigation.

However, unfavourable weather conditions prevented the authorities from boarding the vessel, and Shunxin-39 continued its voyage to the port in South Korea. Taiwanese authorities reported that although Shunxin-39 is registered in Cameroon, it is owned by Jie Yang Trading Limited from Hong Kong, owned by Guo Wenjie, a Chinese citizen.

Chunghwa Telecom, part of the international consortium that owns the cable, reported that it redirected telecommunications traffic to other cables to ensure uninterrupted services. The Trans-Pacific Express cable, valued at £400 million, has been connecting East Asian countries with the western coast of the United States since 2008.

Taiwan has experienced numerous incidents of damage to its undersea telecommunications cables in recent years and has been unable to clearly identify the source of these attacks, prompting it to seek assistance from the European Union.

Attacks on cables in Taiwan follow the severing of an undersea energy cable between Finland and Estonia at Christmas, for which Finland blames the Russian shadow fleet.

Such incidents have multiplied since Russia's invasion of Ukraine three years ago. Politico reports that Beijing and Moscow are thereby testing the West's capacity and readiness to withstand hybrid forms of aggression.

Source: Politico