Taiwan suspects Chinese ships cut islands’ internet cables

AP News ^ | March 8, 2023 | Huizhong Wu & Johnson Lai

[Twotone]

NANGAN, Taiwan (AP) — In the past month, bed and breakfast owner Chen Yu-lin had to tell his guests he couldn’t provide them with the internet.

Others living on Matsu, one of Taiwan’s outlying islands closer to neighboring China, had to struggle with paying electricity bills, making a doctor’s appointment or receiving a package.

For connecting to the outside world, Matsu’s 14,000 residents rely on two submarine internet cables leading to Taiwan’s main island. The National Communications Commission, citing the island’s telecom service, blamed two Chinese ships for cutting the cables. It said a Chinese fishing vessel is suspected of severing the first cable some 50 kilometers (31 miles) out at sea. Six days later, on Feb. 8, a Chinese cargo ship cut the second, NCC said.

Taiwan’s government stopped short of calling it a deliberate act on the part of Beijing, and there was no direct evidence to show the Chinese ships were responsible.

The islanders in the meantime were forced to hook up to a limited internet via microwave radio transmission, a more mature technology, as backup. It means one could wait hours to send a text. Calls would drop, and videos were unwatchable.

“A lot of tourists would cancel their booking because there’s no internet. Nowadays, the internet plays a very large role in people’s lives,” said Chen, who lives in Beigan, one of Matsu’s main residential islands.

[z3n]

A step preceding significant military action?

or (to be less alarmist)

Part of a greater cold war agenda of isolation that is not leading to anything imminent?

[Mouton]

Wonder where they got that idea??

[SunkenCiv]

• Chinese Rocket That Launched Spy Satellites Breaks up Over Texas [03/09/2023]
• China has built the world's largest navy. Now what's Beijing going to do with it? [03/09/2023]
• China reportedly stole US military technology for its J-20 fighter jet [03/09/2023]
• (for "no longer" read "never could") America no longer can rely on China as a useful counterpoint to Russia [03/09/2023]
• Leaked Intelligence Memos Suggest Trudeau Knew of Chinese Election Interference [03/10/2023]

[russdawg]

everything is incremental. little steps and no one even blinks an eye, then one day china cuts an undersea cable or 2 and the us blows up a gas pipeline and the world just keeps watching funny dance videos on tik tok.

[sit-rep]

Actually I’m surprised they relied on the mainland for their cable in this era. Figured they’d be satilite linked years ago

[CodeJockey]

Taiwan probably did it for the same reason Russia blew up their pipelines.

[kiryandil]

Six Guys And A Boat

For all your infrastructure demolition needs...

[kiryandil]

Taiwan probably did it for the same reason Russia blew up their pipelines.