Feb. 25 (UPI) -- The Taiwanese coast guard has detained a Chinese cargo ship and its crew as it investigates the destruction of an undersea communication cable.
The cable that connects mainland Taiwan to its Penghu Islands in the Taiwan Strait was severed six nautical miles northwest of the Jiangjun Fishing Port on Tuesday, according to the Coast Guard Administration. Communication is not affected and a backup cable has been activated.
The eight crew members detained are all Chinese nationals.
"Whether the cause of the undersea cable breakage was intentional sabotage or a simple accident remains to be clarified by further investigation," Taiwan's coast guard said in a statement. "It cannot be ruled out that it was a grey-zone intrusion by China."
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The ship, identified as Hongtai 168, was found anchored and stranded early Tuesday morning. The Coast Guard Administration responded to a request to assist the investigation and monitored the ship before ultimately escorting it to the Port of Anping, located in the Taiwanese city Tainan.
The damage of the Taiwan-Penghu Third Undersea Cable Line is not the first instance of Taiwan's undersea communication cables being damaged in a suspicious manner. Taiwanese officials suspect a Chinese cargo ship may have cut a cable north of its coast in January. Two cables connecting mainland Taiwan to its islands of Matsu were damaged in 2023 causing an internet blackout. Taiwan alleges that Chinese ships were responsible, though it does not hold the position that this was intentional.
China has continued to ramp up its claim that Taiwan is Chinese territory, sending warships and military aircraft to the area surrounding Taiwan over the past year.
In December, Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated his stance that Taiwan is part of China.
"We Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one and the same family," Xi said in a New Year address. "No one can ever sever the bond of kinship between us."
