On February 25, Taiwan’s coast guard detained a cargo ship with a Chinese crew after an undersea telecommunications cable was damaged in the Taiwan Strait. It has raised concerns about possible “grey zone” interference from China.
The Coast Guard confirmed in a statement that the cause of the cable break remains under investigation. The statement said, “Whether the cause of the undersea cable break was due to intentional sabotage or simply an accident is still pending further investigation for clarification.”
However, authorities did not rule out the possibility that the incident was part of China’s “grey zone” tactics. A gray zone is a measure created to exert pressure without direct military confrontation.
The cable, operated by Chunghwa Telecom, connected Taiwan’s Penghu Islands to the main island. The company said communications services were not affected, as data traffic was redirected through another connection. Taiwan’s Ministry for Digital Affairs reported a rise in cable malfunctions in recent months, with five incidents recorded this year alone, compared to three in 2024 and 2023.
Notably, damaging undersea cables has become very frequent these days. Last week, the same kind of case emerged in the Baltic Sea where sea cables were damaged. Swedish authorities announced that they are investigating a possible breach of another subsea cable in the region. This is being used as a geopolitical tool to disturb the communication channels of countries.
Also Read: Investigations underway on new Baltic undersea cable damage, who is responsible?
In the Taiwan case, the detained vessel, the Hongtai 58, is registered under the flag of Togo, though authorities suspect it to be a flag of convenience. Taiwan’s coast guard reported that all eight crew members onboard were Chinese nationals and that the ship had dropped anchor off Taiwan’s southwestern coast around the time the cable was severed. The Hongtai 58 had lingered in the waters since Saturday, beyond the normal range of movement for such a vessel, and had failed to respond to repeated calls from the Coast Guard, as a senior security official mentioned.
The ship was intercepted early Tuesday (February 25) and escorted to Anping port, where Coast Guard officers boarded the vessel for investigation. Taiwan’s authorities have been closely monitoring ships suspected of being linked to Chinese state operations, having drawn up a watchlist of over 50 vessels believed to be Chinese-owned but operating under foreign flags.
This is not the first incident of suspected Chinese involvement in undersea cable damage near Taiwan. In January, the Taiwanese government investigated another Chinese-owned vessel, the Cameroon-registered Shunxing 39, which was believed to have dragged its anchor and severed a cable running from Taiwan to the U.S. Last year, two Chinese vessels were suspected of cutting cables near the Matsu Islands. The incident left residents without internet for weeks. While authorities fell short of blaming the incidents on outright sabotage, the repeated incidents have created security worries.
At the same time, tensions between China and Taiwan continued to rise on Wednesday (February 26), as Taiwan deployed naval, air, and ground troops in retaliation against surprise live-fire exercises by the Chinese military. Taiwan’s Defense Ministry criticized China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) for conducting drills 40 nautical miles off the coast of Kaohsiung and Pingtung without warning. The ministry called the drills a “blatant provocation” and a threat to global security.
“This move not only caused a high degree of danger to the safety of international flights and vessels at sea but is also a blatant provocation to regional security and stability,” Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said in a statement. In response, Taiwan deployed forces to monitor and deter any further threats, emphasizing its commitment to maintaining regional stability.
Beijing has yet to comment on the latest incident, but its military activities and repeated undersea cable disruptions have fueled concerns over a growing campaign of “grey zone” pressure against Taiwan. As investigations continue, Taiwan remains on high alert for further provocations in the Taiwan Strait.
The Indo-Pacific, especially the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait, has become geopolitically and militarily hot due to increasing Chinese naval dominance and territorial ambitions in the region. These confrontations slowly and gradually may up ending a larger confrontation in the Taiwan Strait, which may have severe implications.
