The case is Taiwan’s first, prosecuting what it alleges is intentional damage to the submarine cable.
Taiwan’s prosecutors officially accused the captain of a Chinese freighter who said Taipi had cut one of its subsea cables earlier this year.
There were allegations that the Togoan-style Hongtai 58 was detained by the Taiwanese coast guard near the location of the cable breakdown in February, causing damage by intentionally dropping the anchor.
Prosecutors said the captain, who was only open to the public by the King of the King, was charged on Friday.
The seven Chinese nationals on the ship were not charged and will be returned to China, prosecutors added.
This case is the first for Taiwan, the latest aspect of what is called a “hybrid war” or “grey zone activity” with China, and the latest aspect of submarine cables. The term refers to low-grade forced acts, such as sabotages that retain some degree of plausible negativity.
China has long claimed Taiwan, an island with a population of 23 million, as a mainland state, and threatened to annex it by force if necessary.
China has yet to respond to the accusations against the Wang, but has previously accused Taipei of “manipulating” the facts of accident and casting Beijing in bad light.
Zhu Fenglian, a spokesman for the Chinese Taiwan Issues Office, previously described the submarine cable incident as a “general maritime accident.”
Prosecutors said Wang refused to provide Taiwanese authorities with information about the ship’s ownership, but Hong Tai 58 is considered to be a so-called Chinese “dark ship” acting informally on Beijing’s behalf.
“Dark Ships” has earned its name through the practice of broadcasting multiple or false identities to maritime authorities. Industry experts say the container may turn off the identification signal to turn off the identification signal.
Since 2023, at least 11 cases of submarine cable failures have been in the Taiwan area, but later dominated as an accident or due to the old age of the equipment.
Subsea cables are the backbone of the Internet and global communications industry, but are also susceptible to breakdowns from undersea and human activity movements.
Industry data shows that 100-200 cable breakdowns occur every year, and proves deliberate damage, a challenge for governments beyond Taipei.
The Baltic countries have seen an increase in the collapse of submarine cables since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. They also struggle to file lawsuits against the ships and their owners related to China and Russia.
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