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Vanessa Cai

Taiwan’s coastguard said it detained eight mainland Chinese crew members of a cargo ship suspected of damaging an undersea communication cable early on Tuesday.
The Togo-registered Hong Tai was intercepted and escorted to Taiwan after it dropped anchor in the area around 3am, when the cable connecting the Penghu Islands – an archipelago west of Taiwan – was damaged.
The coastguard said all of the crew members were mainland Chinese nationals, and the vessel “has a history of mainland Chinese financing”, without providing further details.
“The cause of the undersea cable breakage, whether due to intentional sabotage or an accident, is pending an investigation,” the coastguard said in a statement.


“The possibility of … grey-zone harassment cannot be ruled out,” the coastguard said, adding that investigators “will make every effort to find the truth”.
Grey-zone tactics refer to coercive actions that fall short of armed conflict.
The case “is being handled according to national security-level procedures”, the coastguard said.
Communication services between Taiwan and the Penghu Islands were redirected to other cables, authorities said.
The statement said that the coastguard had been monitoring the cargo ship since it began lingering in waters near the undersea cable on Saturday evening. The coastguard said it had made several attempts to contact the cargo ship but received no response.

Zhu Fenglian, a spokeswoman for Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said on Wednesday that globally there were more than 100 incidents of undersea cable damage every year, and they were “common maritime accidents”.
“In the absence of a clear understanding of the basic facts and responsibility for the incident, the [Taiwan] authorities have fabricated and exaggerated the incident,” she said.
Taiwan’s communications with the outside world rely on 15 undersea cables – a tenuous state of affairs for the self-ruled island, which has called for more reliable and secure communications infrastructure, fearing a blockade by the mainland.
It is not the first time an undersea cable incident has sparked tensions between the two sides.
In January, Taipei accused the crew of a Cameroon-flagged, mainland Chinese-owned cargo ship of severing another undersea cable near Keelung Harbour in northern Taiwan.
Beijing considers Taiwan a part of its territory to be brought under control, by force if necessary. Most countries, including the United States, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state but oppose any attempt to take the island by force.


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Taiwan coastguard detains mainland China crew after undersea cable damaged

Taiwanese coastguard crews prepare to board the cargo vessel Hong Tai, which is suspected of damaging an undersea communications cable in waters around the outlying Penghu Islands early on Tuesday. Photo: Handout

Taiwan coastguard vessels approach a Togo-flagged cargo ship for inspection in waters near the Penghu Islands after an undersea cable was damaged. Photo: Taiwan Coast Guard Administration

Sweden claims China denied request to probe ship linked to cut undersea cables in Baltic Sea

Chinese  bulk carrier Yi Peng 3 is anchored in the sea of Kattegat, near the city of Grenaa in Jutland, Denmark on November 20. Photo: AP

The Chinese bulk carrier Yi Peng 3 is anchored and being monitored by a Danish naval patrol vessel (unseen) in the sea of Kattegat on November 20. Photo: AFP

Sweden’s Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard speaks at the IISS Raffles Lecture, on the sidelines of a state visit by Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf, in Singapore on November 20. Photo: Reuters

The C-Lion1 submarine telecommunications cable being laid to the bottom of the Baltic Sea by cable laying ship “Ile de Brehat” off the shore of Helsinki, Finland in October 2015. Photo: AFP

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Finnish guard ship Turvan on duty in the southern Baltic Sea. Photo: EPA-EFE

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Chinese bulk carrier ‘Yi Peng 3’ anchored and under surveillance by a Danish naval patrol vessel in the sea of Kattegat. Photo: EPA-EFE

The Chinese ship Yi Peng 3, right, anchored and being monitored by a Danish naval patrol vessel in the sea of Kattegat on November 20. Photo: Ritzau Scanpix via AFP

Undersea cables in Baltic Sea cut, Germany and Finland fear sabotage

The 1,200km cable connecting Helsinki to the German port of Rostock being laid in 2015. File photo: Lehtikuva via AFP

C-Lion1 runs for 1,200km from the Finnish capital Helsinki to the German Baltic Sea port city of Rostock. File photo: Lehtikuva via AFP

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China

Politics

Cargo vessel and 8-member crew escorted to Taiwan after communication link to Penghu Islands damaged in suspected ‘harassment’, coastguard says


Cargo vessel and 8-member crew escorted to Taiwan after communication link to Penghu Islands damaged in suspected ‘harassment’, coastguard says.
