Taiwan's government today launched an initiative to promote global cooperation on improving the security of undersea cables, following reported disruptions of such cables near Taiwan and around the world.
The Management Initiative on International Undersea Cables aims to "bring together stakeholders, align standards, promote best practices, and turn shared concerns into beneficial cooperation," Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said at a seminar in Taipei.
The project will be known as "RISK," an acronym for risk mitigation, information sharing, systemic reform, and knowledge building, he said at the seminar titled "Taiwan-Europe Subsea Cable Security Cooperation Forum."
Photo: Chen Yi-kuan, Taipei Times
Lin said Taiwan sits at a vital junction on the global communications map, with several major international undersea cables passing through or near the country.
In recent years, however, Taiwan has repeatedly experienced the consequences of cable disruptions, in instances where local authorities have found damage to cables connecting its outlying islands, the minister said.
"These experiences have taught us an important lesson — resilience cannot be taken for granted. It must be built through planning, implementation, and cooperation," he said, adding that this is why Taiwan is launching the initiative.
"This is not a national project but rather a global partnership," Lin said, calling on stakeholders around the world to join the initiative.
The project is "an open, inclusive, and collaborative platform" to secure a future "where data flows freely and securely, where no nation is left behind, and where connectivity is treated as a public good, not a geopolitical weapon," he said.
At the seminar, a member of the European Parliament Rihards Kols said that currently there are more than 600 operational or planned cables worldwide, stretching nearly 1.5 million kilometers.
"These are not just lines of data. They are the nervous system of democratic connectivity," which is under stress, he said.
Between 2023 and this year, there were 12 separate incidents that affected energy lines and undersea cables across the Baltic region, Kols said, adding that he believes they were "acts of sabotage."
Taiwan sits at a vital juncture of the Indo-Pacific's digital infrastructure and is a strategic hub for global connectivity, said Kols, who is from Latvia.
"Taiwan knows better than most what it means to be targeted with persistent pressure — economic, digital, narrative, and also physical — which is why Taiwan's experience matters and why Taiwan's voice must be part of this global conversation," he said.
The half-day seminar today was organized by the Taipei-based Research Institute for Democracy Society and Emerging Technology, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Formosa Club — a Taiwan-friendly cross-party group of European legislators.
LOUD AND PROUD Taiwan might have taken a drubbing against Australia and Japan, but you might not know it from the enthusiasm and numbers of the fans Taiwan might not be expected to win the World Baseball Classic (WBC) but their fans are making their presence felt in Tokyo, with tens of thousands decked out in the team’s blue, blowing horns and singing songs. Taiwanese fans have packed out the Tokyo Dome for all three of their games so far and even threatened to drown out home team supporters when their team played Japan on Friday. They blew trumpets, chanted for their favorite players and had their own cheerleading squad who dance on a stage during the game. The team struggled to match that exuberance on the field, with
Whether Japan would help defend Taiwan in case of a cross-strait conflict would depend on the US and the extent to which Japan would be allowed to act under the US-Japan Security Treaty, former Japanese minister of defense Satoshi Morimoto said. As China has not given up on the idea of invading Taiwan by force, to what extent Japan could support US military action would hinge on Washington’s intention and its negotiation with Tokyo, Morimoto said in an interview with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) yesterday. There has to be sufficient mutual recognition of how Japan could provide
UPDATED TEST: The new rules aim to assess drivers’ awareness of risky behaviors and how they respond under certain circumstances, the Highway Bureau said Driver’s license applicants who fail to yield to pedestrians at intersections or to check blind spots, or omit pointing-and-calling procedures would fail the driving test, the Highway Bureau said yesterday. The change is set to be implemented at the end of the month, and is part of the bureau’s reform of the driving portion of the test, which has been criticized for failing to assess whether drivers can operate vehicles safely. Sedan drivers would be tested regarding yielding to pedestrians and turning their heads to check blind spots, while drivers of large vehicles would be tested on their familiarity with pointing-and-calling
A Taiwanese man apologized on Friday after saying in a social media post that he worked with Australia to provide scouting reports on Taiwan’s team, enabling Australia’s victory in this year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC), saying it was a joke and that he did not hold any position with foreign teams or Taiwan’s sports training center. Chen Po-hao (陳柏豪) drew the rage of many Taiwan baseball fans when he posted online on Thursday night, claiming credit for Australia’s 3-0 win over Taiwan in the opening game for Pool C, saying he worked as a physical therapist with the national team and
RSS