Prosecutors yesterday for the first time charged a Chinese ship captain with intentionally damaging undersea cables off Taiwan in February, after a rise in sea cable malfunctions alarmed officials amid tensions with China.
The man was the captain of the Chinese-crewed Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號), registered in Togo, which authorities seized after suspecting the ship had dropped anchor near an undersea cable off southwestern Taiwan and damaged it, prosecutors said.
The captain, identified only by his family name, Wang (王), was charged with contravening the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法) for allegedly damaging the cable, the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office said.
Photo: screen grab from Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling’s Facebook page
Authorities boarded the Hong Tai and detained its seven Chinese crew on Feb. 25 after the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) received a report from Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) that its Taiwan-Penghu No. 3 submarine fiber optic cable had been severed.
The Hong Tai had been lingering in the area where the cable was since Feb. 22, the CGA said.
Prosecutors said that during that period, Wang ordered his men to drop anchor 5 nautical miles (9.26km) west of Tainan’s Beimen District (北門) and sail in a zigzag around the No. 3 cable in an apparent attempt at sabotage.
The boat’s electronic navigational chart clearly indicated the locations of various undersea cables in waters around Taiwan, including the No. 3 cable, prosecutors said.
That submarine cable, used for telephone and broadband communications, is in a government-designated zone where vessels are prohibited from anchoring, they added.
Wang has since been held incommunicado, while the crew members are being kept at a detention center and are awaiting deportation. They were not charged due to a lack of evidence.
Wang continued to deny any wrongdoing and refused to reveal the identity of the shipowner, who likely instructed him to carry out the act, prosecutors said, adding that it was Taiwan’s first prosecution over damaging sea cables.
Under Article 72 of the telecommunications law, people who are caught endangering the normal functioning of a submarine cable are subject to imprisonment of at least one year, but no more than seven years, and may also be fined up to NT$10 million (US$305,764).The case is expected to be heard by the Tainan District Court.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Beijing has previously accused Taiwan of “manipulating” possible Chinese involvement in the case, saying it was casting aspersions before the facts were clear.
The cable damage came on top of China’s military activities around Taiwan, including war games, the latest of which Beijing held last week.
Taiwan has reported five cases of sea cable malfunctions this year, compared with three last year and the year prior, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said.
The CGA has in recent months stepped up efforts to protect sea cables, including monitoring a “blacklist” of close to 100 China-linked ships near Taiwan registered to a country other than that of its owner, officials familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Taiwan in January said it suspected a China-linked ship of damaging an undersea cable off its northern coast; the ship owner denied the accusations.
Taiwan has repeatedly complained about “gray zone” Chinese activities around the nation, designed to pressure it without direct confrontation, such as through balloon overflights and sand dredging.
Taipei was alarmed after another Chinese-linked ship was suspected of damaging a different cable this year, prompting the navy and other agencies to step up efforts to protect the undersea communication links, which are vital to the nation’s connection to the rest of the world.
Taipei has pointed to similarities between what it has experienced and damage to undersea cables in the Baltic Sea following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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