Taiwan prosecutors have, for the first time, charged a Chinese ship captain with intentionally damaging undersea cables off the island’s coast in February. This follows a rise in sea cable malfunctions that have raised concerns among Taiwanese officials, especially amid increasing tensions with China.
The incident involved the Chinese-registered ship Hong Tai 58, which was crewed by Chinese nationals and flagged in Togo. Taiwanese authorities had detained the vessel after suspecting that it had anchored near an undersea cable off southwestern Taiwan, resulting in damage.
The prosecutors’ office in Tainan, a city in southern Taiwan, has charged the ship’s Chinese captain, identified only by his last name Wang, with the damage. Wang has denied the charges but declined to provide details about the ship’s ownership and was described by prosecutors as having a “bad attitude.”
Seven other Chinese nationals aboard the vessel were detained but will not face charges. They will be repatriated to China. This case marks Taiwan’s first prosecution related to the damage of undersea cables.
Taiwan’s Digital Ministry has reported five cases of sea cable malfunctions this year, a rise from three incidents in both 2024 and 2023. In response, Taiwan’s coast guard has increased monitoring of ships linked to China, including maintaining a “blacklist” of nearly 100 ships flagged to countries other than China but with potential Chinese ties operating near Taiwan.
In January, Taiwan suspected a China-linked ship of damaging another undersea cable off its northern coast, though the ship’s owner denied any wrongdoing. Taiwan has also raised alarms over other “grey zone” activities from China, such as balloon overflights and sand dredging, designed to exert pressure without direct confrontation. These activities have led Taiwan to compare its situation to undersea cable damage in the Baltic Sea following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, further heightening concerns.