Taiwan to strengthen surveillance near undersea cables

Taipei, Jan. 15 (CNA) Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND) said Wednesday that it would step up surveillance near four key areas where undersea cables are located after a Chinese-owned vessel apparently cut an undersea fiber-optic cable near Keelung Harbor.

That cable was severed in a suspected act of sabotage by the Cameroon-flagged Shunxin39 cargo ship when it dragged its anchor across an international subsea cable in waters off the coast of northern Taiwan near Keelung on Jan. 3.

A navigation map created by Marine Traffic showed that the vessel had been loitering in the area crisscrossed by undersea cables since Dec. 3, 2024.

At an MND news conference on Wednesday, officials were asked whether there was a plan in place to respond to similar incidents.

Colonel Lee Chang-fu (李昌富) from the Office of the Deputy Chief of General Staff for Operations and Planning said the military will demarcate four "key surveillance zones" in waters off Yilan County's Toucheng Township, New Taipei's Bali District, Pingtung County's Fangshan Township, and the offshore county Penghu.

The Navy will use its radar and electronic intelligence systems to look for stalling vessels, those demonstrating "unusual" speed changes, and those that follow "suspicious" trails, Lee said.

Once a suspicious vessel has been discovered, the Navy will notify the Joint Operations Command Center and the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) to facilitate the CGA's evidence gathering, inspection, or seizure of suspicious vessels, Lee said.

The Navy may also deploy vessels at the CGA's request to assist it in its handling of potential saboteurs, Lee said.

He added that the military will consult with the CGA to adopt joint measures to protect undersea cables and include the measures in protocols that guide the military in providing support during maritime missions.