Taiwan charges Chinese captain in first-ever undersea cable sabotage case

A cargo ship lingered off Taiwan's coast for days, ignoring repeated calls from the Coast Guard

Then a vital undersea cable went dark. Months later, that moment is now the focus of a case unlike any Taiwan has pursued before

Friday, prosecutors charged the ship's captain, a Chinese national, with damaging critical infrastructure near Taiwan's southwestern coast

According to Reuters, this is the first time Taiwan has brought criminal charges

in a case involving undersea cable damage. Authorities say the captain of the Hongtai 58

a vessel crewed by Chinese nationals and registered in Togo, dropped anchor in February near an undersea cable, causing damage

Prosecutors in Taiwan identified the suspect only by his surname, Wang. Officials detained the ship after the cable malfunctioned

and later filed charges against Wang, who denied wrongdoing and declined to name the ship's owner

Prosecutors say they will not charge seven other Chinese nationals aboard the vessel

and are planning to return them to China. The case comes as Taiwan faces a surge in cable disruptions and renewed military pressure

from Beijing. Taiwan Digital Ministry says the island has reported five incidents of undersea cable damage so far this year up from three in both 2023 and 2024 Officials suspect China ships many sailing under foreign flags may be responsible

Officials say Taiwan's Coast Guard has increased surveillance and maintains a blacklist of nearly 100 suspect ships operating near its waters

In January, authorities say another China-linked vessel likely damaged a cable off the island's northern coast

Taiwan's navy and digital ministry stepped up efforts to protect undersea cables

which handled most of the island's internet and global data. China, which claims Taiwan as its territory, accused Taipei of politicizing the issue

Beijing's Taiwan Affairs Office has not commented on the latest case, but previously dismissed concerns as premature and unproven

Taiwanese officials are drawing parallels between recent damage in their waters and incidents in the Baltic Sea, where NATO states previously investigated suspected sabotage

linked to Russian activity. ysts described the disruptions as part of what Taiwan sees as

gray zone tactics, coercive measures that fall short of armed conflict. For more unbiased updates, download the Straight Arrow News app or go to san.com