The government is considering bills to regulate subsea cables to prevent China from employing “gray zone” tactics to cut cables near Taiwan, a Cabinet official said yesterday.
The remark came after President William Lai (賴清德) said in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) that the Cabinet would propose seven bills to protect Taiwan’s subsea cables.
Lai said in the interview that national security agencies have listed the Chinese oil tankers and freighters that have joined China’s military exercises, as well as the ships that have damaged undersea cables, for special monitoring.
Photo: Taipei Times
Taiwan has close links to other countries, so even though the subsea cables are mainly used by Taiwan, disruptions would affect international cooperation and communications, he said, adding that the nation would also work with other countries to protect the subsea cables.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said that the bills would provide the legal basis for law enforcement to crack down on subsea cable sabotage.
Hopefully, other nations can establish a cooperative platform to stop China from using private vessels operating under flags of convenience to engage in “gray zone” activities, he said.
The proposals could also prohibit such ships from entering Taiwanese waters and ports, to prevent them from carrying out Chinese military operations, which poses a security vulnerability, he said.
Chinese ships operating under flags of convenience have performed harassment actions and damaged subsea cables, not only near Taiwan, but also in the Baltic Sea, which affects the stability and safety of international communications networks, Wang said.
Taiwan would establish cooperative mechanisms with other countries to counter such activities, including through legislation, crackdowns and detaining ships, he added.
Additional reporting by Hsieh Chun-lin
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