U.S. lawmakers introduce bipartisan bill to protect Taiwan's undersea cables

San Francisco, April 2 (CNA) Three U.S. House representatives on Thursday introduced a bipartisan bill aimed at strengthening the resilience of Taiwan's undersea cables and other critical infrastructure against growing threats from China.

Under the proposed legislation, the United States would enhance undersea monitoring with advanced sensors designed to detect sabotage and provide Taiwan with real-time intelligence to protect its vital cable infrastructure, according to the bill.

The bill also mandates that the U.S. collaborate with allies to help Taiwan and regional partners build the capacity to recover from attacks on undersea infrastructure and minimize service disruptions.

As threats from the People's Republic of China (PRC) continue to grow, the U.S. must lead in ensuring undersea infrastructure in the region is protected and resilient, Republican Representative Mike Lawler said in a press release.

The bill follows a series of recent undersea cable disruptions involving Chinese vessels, which experts describe as "gray zone" tactics, including incidents near Taiwan's outlying islands between 2023 and last month.

Lawler said the bill seeks to deter such tactics by imposing sanctions on those found responsible for, or complicit in, sabotaging undersea infrastructure affecting the U.S., Taiwan, or their regional partners.

Democratic Representative Dave Min said Taiwan's communication infrastructure is critical to its security, as well as global commerce and regional stability.

"China's repeated sabotage of Taiwan's undersea cables is not accidental. It is part of a deliberate campaign to isolate a democratic partner and test how far authoritarian coercion can go without consequence," Min said.

Min said the bill signals the U.S. will not ignore "gray zone" tactics aimed at undermining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific.

A Senate companion bill, introduced by Republican Senator John Curtis and Democratic Senator Jacky Rosen, cleared the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in January.