Taiwan reportedly claims China-linked ship damaged one of its submarine cables

Taiwanese authorities have asserted that a China-linked ship entered its waters and damaged a submarine cable.

Local media reports, and the Financial Times report that a vessel named Shunxing 39 called in the Taiwanese port of Keelung last Friday, and as it left damaged a submarine cable operated by Taiwanese carrier Chungwa Telecom as it steamed towards South Korea.

Chungwa Telecom has apparently said just four fibers were impacted, and its redundancy plans mean connectivity wasn’t disrupted.

Taiwanese media has quoted a local security expert who believes the incident was deliberate, and suggested the ship’s true owner is a Chinese national. Unnamed sources at Taiwan’s coast guard have reportedly supported that theory.

Local port authorities tried to have a word with Shunxing 39’s officers but couldn’t catch up with it in heavy seas. The FT reports that Taiwan hopes South Korean authorities can help once ...