Taiwan’s coast guard said it sent a ship to investigate a Jan. 3 report from telecommunications provider Chunghwa Telecom that a communications cable had been damaged off the island’s northern coast, according to Reuters.
China and Taiwan flags in illustration taken on April 11, 2023
Upon arriving at the scene, Taiwan’s coast guard discovered the Chinese-controlled ship “Shunxin 39”, registered in both Cameroon and Tanzania, and asked the ship to return to port in Taiwan to investigate, according to Reuters. .
In a statement, Taiwan’s Coast Guard said because of bad weather they were unable to board the ship for verification, but they “cannot rule out the possibility” that the ship was involved in “gray zone” activities. However, this force has not provided any direct evidence.
Meanwhile, the above ship owner confirmed to Reuters on January 8 that there was no evidence that the ship was involved in the damage to a submarine communication cable off the coast of Taiwan.
By the end of January 8, mainland China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said that damage to submarine cables was a “common maritime incident”, and Taiwan had made “baseless” accusations as well. like deliberately exaggerating “the so-called gray zone threat from the mainland”.
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In response to the above statement, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council said that the case is being investigated and will proceed based on evidence.
Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council also said that Taiwan had suffered damage in the case of submarine cables to the Kinmen and Matsu islands, territories located right off the Chinese coast but controlled by Taiwan. Loan controls, according to Reuters.
