Latest news with #Penghu
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Taiwan war game triggers US questions over its ‘will to fight' if mainland China attacks
high-level civilian war game held in Taipei this week has exposed serious vulnerabilities in Taiwan's defences of its outer perimeter and eastern regions, prompting a retired US admiral to warn that Washington's involvement depended on 'Taiwan's will to fight'. In the exercise simulating a 2030 cross-strait conflict, Taiwan lost control of key outlying territories – most notably Penghu, a group of islands 50km (30 miles) east of the main island – as the People's Liberation Army (PLA) launched a multifront assault that quickly outpaced Taiwan's initial response. The two-day simulation, organised by three Taiwanese think tanks led by the Taipei School of Economics and Political Science, is one of the most detailed publicly conducted strategic exercises modelling a full-scale assault by Chinese mainland forces. It reflects mounting concerns among local strategists and retired military leaders that Taiwan's eastern flank and offshore islands remain dangerously exposed amid intensifying PLA threats and growing US pressure for Taiwan to bolster its own defences. The result of the war game – whether the PLA seized Taiwan – or when the final outcome would be confirmed has not been made public, but the organisers said they would issue a full report. Four teams represented Taiwan, the United States, Japan and mainland China, overseen by a control group. Notable participants included Michael Mullen, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Dennis Blair, a former US Pacific commander; and Shigeru Iwasaki, former chief of staff of Japan's Self-Defence Forces. Nine retired Taiwanese generals and admirals, including Lee Hsi-min, former chief of the general staff; and eight lieutenant generals also took part.
ABC News
4 days ago
- ABC News
Chinese captain jailed for three years for cutting an undersea cable off Taiwan
A Chinese ship captain has been sentenced to three years in a Taiwanese prison for deliberately severing an undersea telecommunications cable off the self-ruled island. The captain, surnamed Wang, and his Togolese-registered cargo ship Hong Tai were detained in February, after a cable linking the Penghu archipelago and Taiwan was reported cut. A district court in southern Taiwan found Wang guilty of violating the Telecommunications Management Act for destroying a submarine cable and jailed him for three years. The court on Thursday, local time, said Wang had ordered two crew members to lower the Hong Tai's anchor into waters off south-western Taiwan where he would have known anchoring was prohibited because it could damage the subsea cable. The anchor's claw did not lodge in the seabed and the ship drifted. The cable had been "completely severed" by the time Taiwan's coast guard intercepted the Hong Tai and ordered the lifting of its anchor, the court said in the judgement. Wang admitted he had been negligent but denied "intentional wrongdoing". He can appeal against the sentence. The court said the evidence was sufficient to find Wang's "criminal conduct established", adding that the punishment was "a warning". Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom spent more than NT$17 million ($AU887,000) to repair the cable, the court said. Prosecutors had said Wang was the first Chinese ship captain charged with severing an undersea telecoms cable. The other seven crew members were to be deported without charge. Taiwan has 14 international underwater cables and 10 domestic ones. There have been a series of undersea cable breakages in recent years, with previous incidents blamed on natural deterioration of the wires or Chinese ships. The coast guard said previously the Hong Tai was among 52 "suspicious" Chinese-owned ships flying flags of convenience from Mongolia, Cameroon, Tanzania, Togo and Sierra Leone highlighted for close monitoring. AFP/ABC
CNA
4 days ago
- CNA
Taiwan jails Chinese ship captain for severing subsea cable
TAIPEI: A Chinese ship captain was sentenced to three years in a Taiwanese prison on Thursday (Jun 12) for deliberately severing an undersea telecoms cable off the self-ruled island. The captain, surnamed Wang, and his Togolese-registered cargo ship Hongtai were detained in February after a cable linking the Penghu archipelago and Taiwan was reported cut. A district court in southern Taiwan found Wang guilty of violating the Telecommunications Management Act for destroying a submarine cable and jailed him for three years. The court said Wang had ordered two crew members to lower the Hongtai's anchor into waters off southwestern Taiwan where he would have known anchoring was prohibited because it could damage the subsea cable. The anchor's claw did not lodge in the seabed and the ship drifted. The cable had been "completely severed" by the time Taiwan's coast guard intercepted the Hongtai and ordered the lifting of its anchor, the court said in the judgement. Wang admitted he had been negligent but denied "intentional wrongdoing". He can appeal against the sentence. The court said the evidence was sufficient to find Wang's "criminal conduct established", adding that the punishment was "a warning". Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom spent more than NT$17 million (US$578,000) to repair the cable, the court said. Prosecutors had said Wang was the first Chinese ship captain charged with severing an undersea telecoms cable. The other seven crew members were to be deported without charge. Taiwan has 14 international underwater cables and 10 domestic ones. There have been a series of undersea cable breakages in recent years, with previous incidents blamed on natural deterioration of the wires or Chinese ships. The coast guard said previously the Hongtai was among 52 "suspicious" Chinese-owned ships flying flags of convenience from Mongolia, Cameroon, Tanzania, Togo and Sierra Leone highlighted for close monitoring.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Taiwan jails China captain for undersea cable sabotage in landmark case
A Chinese national has been sentenced to three years in prison for damaging an undersea cable connecting Taiwan's main island and the Penghu islands in the Taiwan Strait. The man, identified by his surname Wang, was the captain of the Togolese-registered vessel Hong Tai 58. The Tainan District Court's verdict on Thursday marks the first sentencing after reports in recent years of undersea cables around Taiwan being severed. Taipei has accused Beijing of sabotaging its cables, describing it as a "grey zone" tactic to pressure the self-ruled island, which China claims as its territory. But China has denied its involvement, calling the incidents "common maritime accidents" that have been "exaggerated" by Taiwanese authorities. Undersea cables - insulated wires laid on the seabed - carry nearly all of the world's internet traffic. An estimated 150 to 200 faults occur across the world's undersea cable systems every year, according to the International Cable Protection Committee. Taiwan has 10 domestic and 14 international undersea cables. The damage to cables linking Taiwan to the Penghu islands "seriously interferes with the government and society's operations", the court said in a statement about Thursday's sentencing. "The impact is enormous, and the defendant's actions should be severely condemned." In February, Taiwan's coast guard spotted Hong Tai 58 anchored off the island's southern coast for several days and broadcasted warnings asking it to leave. Minutes after Hong Tai 58 departed the waters in the early hours of 25 February, the coast guard learned that an undersea cable in the area had been severed. Hong Tai 58 was escorted back to Taiwan for investigation, and its crew of eight Chinese nationals were detained. Mr Wang is the only one to face charges, and the remaining crew members have reportedly been sent back to China. While Mr Wang initially denied damaging the undersea cables, he said during his trial that he "might have broken the cable". Mr Wang, who did not appoint a lawyer, told the court that the rough waters had made navigation tricky, and he instructed the crew to drop the anchor without knowing that the area contained undersea cables. However, prosecutors argued that he had intentionally damaged the cable, pointing to electronic charts on the ship clearly showing the cable's location. Hsu Shu Han, a prosecutor in the case, told BBC Chinese in May that the vessel was "highly suspicious". It had only one cargo record in the past year and was in poor condition, "but they were still sailing that ship around the Taiwan Strait", he said. Mr Hsu also said the ship had gone by multiple names, and that Mr Wang had deliberately concealed information about the vessel's owner, who has yet to be identified. The Coast Guard told the court that ships typically move in a circular motion around the anchor, but the Hong Tai 58 had dragged its anchor straight across the seabed. Prosecutors said the ship had sailed in a zigzag pattern around the cable. The damaged section of the cable also matched the ship's anchoring location and showed signs of being snagged by an external force. Between 2019 and 2023, there were 36 cases of undersea cables being damaged by external forces, according to Taiwan authorities. Taiwan has been increasingly wary of potential sabotage, especially from China. In January, it accused a Chinese-owned ship of damaging an undersea cable near its northern coast - claims that have been denied by the ship's owner, Reuters reported. Kuan Bi-ling, Taiwan's ocean affairs council minister, said that Hong Tai 58 was among the 52 vessels that Taiwan had been monitoring for suspicious activities. Such suspicions are not just surfacing in Taiwan: Last November, a Chinese carrier was accused of severing two fibre-optic undersea cables in the Baltic Sea. But a Swedish probe earlier this year said it found no conclusive evidence to suggest this - though a separate investigation remains under way, said Reuters. "Some scholars have said that World War III could begin with the cutting of undersea cables. I think that's quite realistic," Herming Chiueh, deputy minister of Taiwan's Ministry of Digital Affairs, told BBC Chinese. "From the Ministry's perspective, our job is to ensure timely reporting and response for these critical infrastructures." Mr Hsu said that Mr Wang's phone records showed no links to Chinese authorities, and there was no direct evidence proving that the crew had been acting under Chinese government orders. Tensions have ratcheted between Taiwan and China over the past year. Taiwanese President William Lai has adopted a tough stance against Beijing, calling it a "foreign hostile force". Meanwhile, China has held regular drills around Taiwan to simulate a blockade of the island. Sweden asks China to co-operate over severed cables
BBC News
4 days ago
- BBC News
Chinese ship captain jailed for damaging Taiwan's undersea cable
A Chinese national has been sentenced to three years in prison for damaging an undersea cable connecting Taiwan's main island and the Penghu islands in the Taiwan man, identified by his surname Wang, was the captain of the Togolese-registered vessel Hong Tai Tainan District Court's verdict on Thursday marks the first sentencing after reports in recent years of undersea cables around Taiwan being has accused Beijing of sabotaging its cables, describing it as a "grey zone" tactic to pressure the self-ruled island, which China claims as its territory. But China has denied its involvement, calling the incidents "common maritime accidents" that have been "exaggerated" by Taiwanese cables - insulated wires laid on the seabed - carry nearly all of the world's internet estimated 150 to 200 faults occur across the world's undersea cable systems every year, according to the International Cable Protection has 10 domestic and 14 international undersea damage to cables linking Taiwan to the Penghu islands "seriously interferes with the government and society's operations", the court said in a statement about Thursday's sentencing. "The impact is enormous, and the defendant's actions should be severely condemned."In February, Taiwan's coast guard spotted Hong Tai 58 anchored off the island's southern coast for several days and broadcasted warnings asking it to after Hong Tai 58 departed the waters in the early hours of 25 February, the coast guard learned that an undersea cable in the area had been Tai 58 was escorted back to Taiwan for investigation, and its crew of eight Chinese nationals were Wang is the only one to face charges, and the remaining crew members have reportedly been sent back to Mr Wang initially denied damaging the undersea cables, he said during his trial that he "might have broken the cable".Mr Wang, who did not appoint a lawyer, told the court that the rough waters had made navigation tricky, and he instructed the crew to drop the anchor without knowing that the area contained undersea prosecutors argued that he had intentionally damaged the cable, pointing to electronic charts on the ship clearly showing the cable's Shu Han, a prosecutor in the case, told BBC Chinese in May that the vessel was "highly suspicious". It had only one cargo record in the past year and was in poor condition, "but they were still sailing that ship around the Taiwan Strait", he Hsu also said the ship had gone by multiple names, and that Mr Wang had deliberately concealed information about the vessel's owner, who has yet to be Coast Guard told the court that ships typically move in a circular motion around the anchor, but the Hong Tai 58 had dragged its anchor straight across the said the ship had sailed in a zigzag pattern around the damaged section of the cable also matched the ship's anchoring location and showed signs of being snagged by an external 2019 and 2023, there were 36 cases of undersea cables being damaged by external forces, according to Taiwan has been increasingly wary of potential sabotage, especially from China. In January, it accused a Chinese-owned ship of damaging an undersea cable near its northern coast - claims that have been denied by the ship's owner, Reuters Bi-ling, Taiwan's ocean affairs council minister, said that Hong Tai 58 was among the 52 vessels that Taiwan had been monitoring for suspicious suspicions are not just surfacing in Taiwan: Last November, a Chinese carrier was accused of severing two fibre-optic undersea cables in the Baltic Sea. But a Swedish probe earlier this year said it found no conclusive evidence to suggest this - though a separate investigation remains under way, said Reuters. "Some scholars have said that World War III could begin with the cutting of undersea cables. I think that's quite realistic," Herming Chiueh, deputy minister of Taiwan's Ministry of Digital Affairs, told BBC Chinese."From the Ministry's perspective, our job is to ensure timely reporting and response for these critical infrastructures."Mr Hsu said that Mr Wang's phone records showed no links to Chinese authorities, and there was no direct evidence proving that the crew had been acting under Chinese government have ratcheted between Taiwan and China over the past year. Taiwanese President William Lai has adopted a tough stance against Beijing, calling it a "foreign hostile force". Meanwhile, China has held regular drills around Taiwan to simulate a blockade of the island.
