Prosecutors in Taiwan charged, for the primary time, a Chinese language ship captain with deliberately damaging undersea cables off the island in February, after an increase in sea cable malfunctions alarmed Taiwan officers amid tensions with China.
Prosecutors say the person was captain of the Chinese language-crewed Hong Tai 58, registered in Togo, which Taiwanese authorities detained after suspecting the ship had dropped anchor close to an undersea cable off southwestern Taiwan, allegedly damaging it.
The prosecutors’ workplace within the southern Taiwanese metropolis of Tainan mentioned they’d charged the ship’s Chinese language captain, whom they recognized solely by his household title, Wang, with being chargeable for the alleged injury to the cable.
Wang has mentioned he’s harmless, however refused to offer particulars of the ship’s proprietor and “had a foul perspective”, the prosecutors alleged in a press release.
Seven different Chinese language nationals detained on the identical time is not going to be charged and can be transported to China, prosecutors mentioned, including that the case was the island’s first prosecution relating to wreck to sea cables.
Reuters was not capable of decide the ship’s possession or instantly find a lawyer representing the captain.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Workplace didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark. China has beforehand accused Taiwan of “manipulating” attainable Chinese language involvement within the case, saying it was casting aspersions earlier than the info had been clear.
Taiwan has reported 5 circumstances of sea cable malfunctions this 12 months, in contrast with three every in 2024 and 2023, based on its digital ministry.
Taiwan’s coastguard has in latest months stepped up efforts to guard its sea cables, together with monitoring a “blacklist” of near 100 China-linked ships registered to a rustic aside from that of its proprietor close to Taiwan, officers accustomed to the matter informed Reuters.
Taiwan mentioned in January it suspected a China-linked ship of damaging an undersea cable off its northern coast. The shipowner denied the accusations.
Taiwan, which China claims as its personal territory, has repeatedly complained about “gray zone” Chinese language actions across the island, designed to strain it with out direct confrontation, reminiscent of balloon overflights and sand dredging.
Taipei was alarmed after one other Chinese language-linked ship was suspected of damaging a special cable this 12 months, prompting the navy and different businesses to step up efforts to guard the undersea communication hyperlinks, that are important to the island’s connections to the remainder of the world.
Taiwan, whose authorities rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, has pointed to similarities between what it has skilled and injury to undersea cables within the Baltic Sea following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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