US senators on July 9 introduced a Taiwan undersea cable resilience initiative act in response to the frequent disruptions of submarine communication cables around Taiwan in recent years. The bill directly addresses the issue of China’s “gray zone” tactics by deliberately damaging undersea cables in an attempt to isolate Taiwan from the international communications network.
Not only do these actions threaten Taiwan’s national security, but they also challenge the resilience of democratic nations and the stability of global communications. In Taiwan, 99 percent of Internet traffic relies on undersea cable links. Each submarine cable incident causes devastating destruction because the cables are Taiwan’s “digital lifelines.”
The bill was initiated by US senators John Curtis, a Republican, and Jacky Rosen, a Democrat, demonstrating bipartisan consensus in the US Senate. It is a collaborative effort between the US Department of State, the US Department of Defense, the US Department of Homeland Security and the US Coast Guard, aiming to deploy advanced undersea cable monitoring systems, enhance maritime domain awareness with Taiwan and other regional partners, and encouraging the Coast Guard Administration to conduct joint patrols and enhance rapid response capabilities in coordination with US efforts.
Moreover, the bill authorizes sanctions against those who intentionally damage submarine communication cables, including entry bans and the freezing of assets. It also requires the administrative department to report on emerging threats and response strategies, helping to establish a comprehensive system capable of predictions, early warnings and countermeasures.
This behavior is not only part of Taiwan’s non-conventional military countermeasures, but also reflects Washington’s growing attention to key infrastructure security at the front lines of the Indo-Pacific Strategy. From the Pacific Islands and the South China Sea to the Taiwan Strait and its adjacent areas, submarine cables have increasingly become a vulnerable target exploited by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) — alongside information, psychological and hybrid warfare. By cutting or disrupting cables, Beijing could paralyze a nation’s core functions without even launching a war, creating social panic or political pressure to achieve its strategic objectives.
The bill offers Taiwan a new avenue to build an international line of defense in digital resilience. In addition to diplomatic support, Taiwan must develop localized reinforcement measures — such as establishing a backup satellite communications network, creating an immediate submarine cable incident reporting system, and evaluating the coast guard and intelligence agencies’ capabilities to identify atypical or deep-sea operation vessels.
Submarine communication cables are not merely a matter of national defense, as damage to them would also affect the lives of everybody in the country. Most importantly, Taiwan cannot afford to overlook this form of warfare, especially in the face of hybrid and information threats.
The US action sends a clear and obvious message: Whoever damages Taiwan’s undersea cables is challenging the international order. If the bill passes, it would mark a new cornerstone in Taiwan-US relations, forcing the CCP to pay a price for its salami-slicing strategy of aggression. Among the broader geopolitical context, the proposed Taiwan undersea cable resilience initiative act serves as an alarm bell — reminding Taiwanese to prevent the enemy from cutting down our digital lifelines, and, importantly, to strengthen the will to confront this form of “silent warfare.”
Elliot Yao is a reviewer.
Translated by Lai Wen-chieh
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