Taiwanese prosecutors on Friday accused the Chinese ship’s captain of deliberate damage to the underwater cables in the Taiwanese Strait, which occurred in February. According to Reuters report, TASR reports this.
According to the prosecutors, the authorities detained the Captain of the Subson Ship Chung-Tchaj with the Chinese crew registered in the African state of Togo. The Taiwanese Coast Guard detained the ship in February after suspicion that the ship had launched anchors near the underwater cable near the southwest Taiwan and damaged it.
Cable damage
The prosecutor’s office in Tai-Nan said in the south of Taiwan that she has accused the Chinese captain of the ship, which she identified only according to the surname Wang, responsible for cable damage.
According to the prosecutor’s office, Wang said he was innocent, but refused to provide data about the ship owner and “had bad access”.
Seven other Chinese nationals detained at the same time will not be accused and will take them to China. The prosecutors added that this case is the first criminal prosecution on the island in connection with the damage to naval cables.
According to Reuters, China has not yet commented on the detention of the ship’s captain. In February, the Chinese government accused Taiwan of “manipulating” facts about the possible participation of a Chinese cargo ship to damage the underwater communication cable.
The Taiwanese Digital Technology Ministry claims that Taiwan reported five cases of naval cable failures this year. Last year there were only three cases and the same number was recorded in 2023.
In recent months, the coastal guard of Taiwan has intensified efforts to protect their naval cables, including monitoring the “blacklist” of nearly 100 ships connected to China, which are registered in a country other than their owner’s country, representatives claim to be familiar with the matter.
Taiwan said in January that he suspects a ship connected to China from damage to the underwater cable on its north coast. The owner of the ship denied charges.
China considers Taiwan to be its splitting province and has threatened several times that in extreme cases it can also attach it to the rest of the country by force. Beijing has increased his military activities around the island in recent years. Taiwan is worried that China could cut him off from a communication connection with the outside world as part of an attempt to occupy or blockade.
