Taiwan needs to streamline the application process for new undersea cables to “encourage more investment,” while also prioritizing the protection of critical underwater infrastructure against China’s “gray zone” threats, the head of the Taiwan Network Information Center (TWNIC) said yesterday.
In a speech at the TWNIC Engagement Forum in Taipei, TWNIC chairman Kenny Huang (黃勝雄) said that Taiwan “currently has only 14 [international] submarine cables, with one or two more in the pipeline — but can we encourage more investment for submarine cables?”
Huang has previously described Taiwan’s 14 international and 10 domestic undersea communication cables — which carry 99 percent of the nation’s Internet traffic — as a “digital lifeline.”
Photo: Taipei Times
While the international cables are mostly built through joint ventures involving multiple global companies, all domestic cables are owned and operated by Chunghwa Telecom, the nation’s largest telecom, according to the Ministry of Digital Affairs, which oversees nonprofit organization TWNIC.
Huang said there are “a lot of processes” involved in applying to set up a new undersea cable, whether by international or domestic companies, with approval required from multiple government agencies, including the National Communications Commission, the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Culture.
A presentation shown by Huang showed that the approval process for an application to conduct an underwater cultural heritage survey takes about eight months at the Ministry of Culture, while approval of the completed report can take up to 12 months.
The same slide also showed that Taiwan’s application for permits for system inspections takes an average of 29 months, more than double the Asia-Pacific regional average of 14 months.
“The review process includes many unnecessary steps,” Huang said, citing the example of the underwater cultural heritage survey, which he suggested could instead be submitted only if underwater heritage is actually discovered, a practice adopted by other nations in the region, such as Japan, the Philippines and Australia.
Huang also touched on the protection of critical underwater infrastructure, which includes power cables, oil pipelines and undersea communication cables, spanning from Taiwan’s territorial waters to its exclusive economic zone and further into the high seas.
Huang said “new capabilities” are needed, as the underwater domain is a natural theater for China’s “gray zone” activities.
“One moment, nothing seems to be happening, and the next, the entire cable is gone — and you would not even see it happen,” Huang said. “There are too many vehicles and tools capable of carrying out such an operation, including uncrewed vehicles and uncrewed vessels.”
On whether Taiwan can defend its critical underwater infrastructure, Huang said the government should develop a national strategy to protect it, with priorities set according to available resources.
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