Chinese Ship Captain Jailed for Damaging Taiwan’s Undersea Cable

A Chinese man has been sentenced to three years in prison for breaking an important undersea cable that connects Taiwan’s main island to the Penghu islands.

The man, known by his last name Wang, was the captain of a ship called Hong Tai 58,  which was registered in Togo.

A court in Tainan, Taiwan, gave the verdict on Thursday. This is the first time someone has been punished for cutting Taiwan’s undersea cables, which have been damaged several times in recent years.

Taiwan has accused China of trying to damage these cables on purpose to put pressure on Taiwan. China, however, says it has nothing to do with it and calls the accidents “normal” sea incidents.

Undersea cables are very important because they carry most of the world’s internet traffic. Experts say around 150 to 200 cables get damaged worldwide every year. Taiwan alone has 10 domestic and 14 international undersea cables.

The court said that cutting the cables caused big problems for Taiwan’s government and people. It said Wang’s actions were serious and should be strongly punished.

In February, Taiwan’s coast guard found Hong Tai 58 sitting near the southern coast of Taiwan for days. After the ship finally left, Taiwan found that a cable in that area had been cut. The coast guard brought the ship back, and eight Chinese crew members were detained.

Only Captain Wang was charged. The other seven were sent back to China.

At first, Wang said he didn’t damage the cable. Later, in court, he admitted he might have done it but said it was an accident because of bad weather. He said he didn’t know there were cables in that area. However, prosecutors said the ship had maps that clearly showed where the cables were, and they believe Wang did it on purpose.

Between 2019 and 2023, Taiwan says 36 undersea cables around its islands have been damaged by outside forces.

Relations between Taiwan and China have been tense. Taiwan’s President William Lai has been firm against China, calling it a “hostile” country. China has responded by holding military drills around Taiwan, pretending to block the island.