Latest news with #Chinese-crewed
Al Jazeera
11-04-2025
- Al Jazeera
Taiwan charges captain of China-linked ship with damaging subsea cable
Taiwanese prosecutors have formally charged the captain of a Chinese-crewed cargo ship that Taipei says severed one of its subsea cables earlier this year. The Togo-flagged Hong Tai 58 was detained by Taiwan's coastguard in February near the site of a cable breakdown amid allegations that it had deliberately dropped its anchor to cause damage. The ship's captain, who was only identified to the public by his surname Wang, was charged on Friday with being responsible for the incident, the prosecutors said. Seven Chinese nationals who were on board the ship will not be charged, and will be transported back to China, the prosecutors added. The case marks a first for Taiwan, where subsea cables have become the latest front in what is described as 'hybrid warfare' or 'grey zone activity' with China. The terms refer to low-grade coercive acts such as sabotage that hold a certain degree of plausible deniability. China has long claimed Taiwan, an island with a population of 23 million, as a province of the mainland and has threatened to annex it by force, if necessary. China has yet to reply to the charges against Wang, but it has previously accused Taipei of 'manipulating' the facts of the accident to cast Beijing in a bad light. Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, previously described the subsea cable incident as a 'common maritime accident'. Wang declined to provide Taiwanese authorities with information about the ship's ownership, according to prosecutors, but the Hong Tai 58 is believed to be a so-called Chinese 'dark ship' acting unofficially on behalf of Beijing. 'Dark ships' have earned their name due to the practice of broadcasting multiple or false identities to maritime authorities. Sometimes the vessels may turn off identification signals to avoid detection, according to industry experts. Since 2023, there have been at least 11 cases of subsea cable breakdowns around Taiwan, although some were later ruled as accidents or due to the old age of the equipment. Subsea cables are the backbone of the internet and global telecoms industry, but they are also susceptible to breakdowns from movements on the sea floor or human activity. Between 100 and 200 cable breakdowns occur each year, according to industry data, and proving damage as deliberate is notoriously difficult and a challenge for governments beyond Taipei. Countries around the Baltic Sea have also seen an uptick in subsea cable breakdowns since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and they have also struggled to bring legal cases against Chinese and Russia-linked ships and their owners.
The Guardian
11-04-2025
- The Guardian
Taiwan charges Chinese captain with damaging undersea cables
Prosecutors in Taiwan charged, for the first time, a Chinese ship captain with intentionally damaging undersea cables off the island in February, after a rise in sea cable malfunctions alarmed Taiwan officials amid tensions with China. Prosecutors say the man was captain of the Chinese-crewed Hong Tai 58, registered in Togo, which Taiwanese authorities detained after suspecting the ship had dropped anchor near an undersea cable off southwestern Taiwan, allegedly damaging it. The prosecutors' office in the southern Taiwanese city of Tainan said they had charged the ship's Chinese captain, whom they identified only by his family name, Wang, with being responsible for the alleged damage to the cable. Wang has said he is innocent, but refused to provide details of the ship's owner and 'had a bad attitude', the prosecutors alleged in a statement. Seven other Chinese nationals detained at the same time will not be charged and will be transported to China, prosecutors said, adding that the case was the island's first prosecution relating to damage to sea cables. Reuters was not able to determine the ship's ownership or immediately locate a lawyer representing the captain. China's Taiwan Affairs Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. China has previously accused Taiwan of 'manipulating' possible Chinese involvement in the case, saying it was casting aspersions before the facts were clear. Taiwan has reported five cases of sea cable malfunctions this year, compared with three each in 2024 and 2023, according to its digital ministry. Taiwan's coastguard has in recent months stepped up efforts to protect its sea cables, including monitoring a 'blacklist' of close to 100 China-linked ships registered to a country other than that of its owner near Taiwan, officials familiar with the matter told Reuters. Taiwan said in January it suspected a China-linked ship of damaging an undersea cable off its northern coast. The shipowner denied the accusations. Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has repeatedly complained about 'grey zone' Chinese activities around the island, designed to pressure it without direct confrontation, such as balloon overflights and sand dredging. Taipei was alarmed after another Chinese-linked ship was suspected of damaging a different cable this year, prompting the navy and other agencies to step up efforts to protect the undersea communication links, which are vital to the island's connections to the rest of the world. Taiwan, whose government rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims, has pointed to similarities between what it has experienced and damage to undersea cables in the Baltic Sea following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
CNN
11-04-2025
- CNN
Taiwan charges Chinese ship captain with damaging deep-sea cables in unprecedented move
Taiwan prosecutors on Friday for the first time charged a Chinese ship captain with intentionally damaging undersea cables off the island in February, after a rise in sea cable malfunctions alarmed Taiwan officials amid tensions with China. Prosecutors say the man was captain of the Chinese-crewed Hong Tai 58, registered in Togo, which Taiwanese authorities detained after suspecting the ship had dropped anchor near an undersea cable off southwestern Taiwan, damaging it. The prosecutors' office in the southern Taiwanese city of Tainan said they had charged the ship's Chinese captain, whom they identified only by his family name, Wang, with being responsible for damaging the cable. Wang has said he is innocent, but refused to provide details of the ship's owner and 'had a bad attitude', the prosecutors said in a statement. Seven other Chinese nationals detained at the same time will not be charged and will be transported to China, prosecutors said, adding that the case was the island's first prosecution over damaging sea cables. Reuters was not able to determine the ship's ownership or immediately locate a lawyer representing the captain. China's Taiwan Affairs Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. China has previously accused Taiwan of 'manipulating' possible Chinese involvement in the case, saying it was casting aspersions before the facts were clear. Taiwan has reported five cases of sea cable malfunctions this year, compared with three each in 2024 and 2023, according to its digital ministry. Taiwan's coast guard has in recent months stepped up efforts to protect its sea cables, including monitoring a 'blacklist' of close to 100 China-linked ships registered to a country other than that of its owner near Taiwan, officials familiar with the matter told Reuters. Taiwan said in January it suspected a China-linked ship of damaging an undersea cable off its northern coast; the ship owner denied the accusations. Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has repeatedly complained about 'grey zone' Chinese activities around the island, designed to pressure it without direct confrontation, such as balloon overflights and sand dredging. Taipei was alarmed after another Chinese-linked ship was suspected of damaging a different cable this year, prompting the navy and other agencies to step up efforts to protect the undersea communication links, which are vital to the island's connections to the rest of the world. Taiwan, whose government rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims, has pointed to similarities between what it has experienced and damage to undersea cables in the Baltic Sea following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Japan Times
11-04-2025
- Japan Times
In a first, Taiwan charges Chinese ship captain with damaging undersea cables
Taiwanese prosecutors on Friday for the first time charged a Chinese ship captain with intentionally damaging undersea cables off the island in February, after a rise in sea cable malfunctions alarmed Taiwan officials amid tensions with China. Prosecutors say the man was captain of the Chinese-crewed Hong Tai 58, registered in Togo, which Taiwanese authorities detained after suspecting the ship had dropped anchor near an undersea cable off southwestern Taiwan, damaging it. The prosecutors' office in the southern Taiwanese city of Tainan said they had charged the ship's Chinese captain, whom they identified only by his family name, Wang, with being responsible for damaging the cable. Wang has said he is innocent, but refused to provide details of the ship's owner and "had a bad attitude," the prosecutors said in a statement. Seven other Chinese nationals detained at the same time will not be charged and will be transported to China, prosecutors said, adding that the case was the island's first prosecution over the damaging of sea cables. The ship's ownership could not be determined and a lawyer representing the captain could not be immediately located. China's Taiwan Affairs Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. China has previously accused Taiwan of "manipulating" possible Chinese involvement in the case, saying it was casting aspersions before the facts were clear. Taiwan has reported five cases of sea cable malfunctions this year, compared with three each in 2024 and 2023, according to its digital ministry. Taiwan's coast guard has in recent months stepped up efforts to protect its sea cables, including monitoring a "blacklist" of close to 100 China-linked ships registered to a country other than that of its owner near Taiwan, officials familiar with the matter said. Taiwan said in January it suspected a China-linked ship of damaging an undersea cable off its northern coast; the ship owner denied the accusations. Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has repeatedly complained about "gray zone" Chinese activities around the island, designed to pressure it without direct confrontation, such as balloon overflights and sand dredging. Taipei was alarmed after another Chinese-linked ship was suspected of damaging a different cable this year, prompting the navy and other agencies to step up efforts to protect the undersea communication links, which are vital to the island's connections to the rest of the world. Taiwan, whose government rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims, has pointed to similarities between what it has experienced and damage to undersea cables in the Baltic Sea following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
CNN
11-04-2025
- CNN
Taiwan charges Chinese ship captain with damaging deep-sea cables in unprecedented move
Taiwan prosecutors on Friday for the first time charged a Chinese ship captain with intentionally damaging undersea cables off the island in February, after a rise in sea cable malfunctions alarmed Taiwan officials amid tensions with China. Prosecutors say the man was captain of the Chinese-crewed Hong Tai 58, registered in Togo, which Taiwanese authorities detained after suspecting the ship had dropped anchor near an undersea cable off southwestern Taiwan, damaging it. The prosecutors' office in the southern Taiwanese city of Tainan said they had charged the ship's Chinese captain, whom they identified only by his family name, Wang, with being responsible for damaging the cable. Wang has said he is innocent, but refused to provide details of the ship's owner and 'had a bad attitude', the prosecutors said in a statement. Seven other Chinese nationals detained at the same time will not be charged and will be transported to China, prosecutors said, adding that the case was the island's first prosecution over damaging sea cables. Reuters was not able to determine the ship's ownership or immediately locate a lawyer representing the captain. China's Taiwan Affairs Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. China has previously accused Taiwan of 'manipulating' possible Chinese involvement in the case, saying it was casting aspersions before the facts were clear. Taiwan has reported five cases of sea cable malfunctions this year, compared with three each in 2024 and 2023, according to its digital ministry. Taiwan's coast guard has in recent months stepped up efforts to protect its sea cables, including monitoring a 'blacklist' of close to 100 China-linked ships registered to a country other than that of its owner near Taiwan, officials familiar with the matter told Reuters. Taiwan said in January it suspected a China-linked ship of damaging an undersea cable off its northern coast; the ship owner denied the accusations. Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has repeatedly complained about 'grey zone' Chinese activities around the island, designed to pressure it without direct confrontation, such as balloon overflights and sand dredging. Taipei was alarmed after another Chinese-linked ship was suspected of damaging a different cable this year, prompting the navy and other agencies to step up efforts to protect the undersea communication links, which are vital to the island's connections to the rest of the world. Taiwan, whose government rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims, has pointed to similarities between what it has experienced and damage to undersea cables in the Baltic Sea following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
