China sabotaging submarine cables near Taiwan underscores the US’ need to bolster Taiwan’s telecommunications infrastructure and monitor vessels in the Taiwan Strait, the top US Indo-Pacific commander said.
Admiral Samuel Paparo, who heads the US Indo-Pacific Command, made the remarks at a US Senate hearing after Taiwan on Friday for the first time indicted the Chinese captain of a Togolese-registered vessel that allegedly severed an undersea communication cable linking Taiwan proper and Penghu in February.
US Democratic Senator Jacky Rosen asked the admiral to elaborate on attacks by Chinese ships on Taiwan’s undersea cables.
Photo: Reuters
Paparo said that severing the cables is part of China’s “gray zone” activities directed against Taiwan that fall short of war, but could destabilize the region and serve as a prelude of war.
The use of its maritime militia in the operations enabled Beijing to damage a state’s “information enterprise ... without potentially signaling an intent to go to war,” he said.
US intelligence services need to penetrate locations vulnerable to cable attacks to detect and deter such operations before they could be launched, Paparo said.
In addition, the US should develop redundant capabilities in the form of low and medium Earth orbit satellites to ensure that communication between Taiwan and the US and its allies are not dependent on cables alone, he said.
Washington’s efforts should be oriented toward bolstering Taiwan’s resilience so that China could not isolate Taiwan even if the US failed to prevent submarine cables from being cut, he said.
Separately, Paparo said the Chinese Liberation Army (PLA) last year saw significant growth in its capabilities in continuing its campaign to menace Taiwan.
PLA forces engaged in harassing activities in the Taiwan Strait and beyond has increased threefold from previous years, he added.
Chinese military activities around Taiwan proper is more properly defined as rehearsals for invasion than drills or exercises, he said.
Beijing’s aggressive posture has backfired as it has drawn global concern and spurred Taiwan to accelerate its defense, Paparo said.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not