FOC ship illegal anchoring most common cause of near-shore cable damage

Taipei, April 7 (CNA) A government report released Tuesday identified vessels dropping anchor as the most common cause of disruptions to Taiwan's near-shore undersea cables, highlighting a risk posed by ships flying flags of convenience (FOC).

Over the past four years, 38.3 percent of the seven to eight annual cable disruptions recorded within 24 nautical miles of Taiwan's coast were caused by anchor damage, according to the report issued by the Ministry of Digital Affairs (MODA).

Of the seven incidents recorded last year, three were caused by anchor strikes (42.9 percent) -- two of which were attributed to FOC vessels anchoring illegally, the report said.

One such incident involved the Shunxin 39 -- a Chinese-owned vessel flying a Cameroon flag -- which caused a major disruption to the Trans-Pacific Express (TPE) cable network on Jan. 3 last year off northern Taiwan, according to the report.

Another case occurred on Feb. 25 last year, when the Hong Tai 58 -- also a Chinese-owned vessel flying the flag of the Republic of Togo -- damaged the Tai-Peng No. 3 (TP3) undersea cable connecting Taiwan and Penghu.

Other than anchoring, the report noted that "suspected intentional damage" accounted for two of last year's incidents, or 28.5 percent, while fishing activities and natural fiber-core degradation each caused one incident (14.3 percent).

The MODA warned that "innocent passage" rights for third-flagged vessels are increasingly being used by the Chinese authorities as a cover for "grey-zone threats" against Taiwan's telecommunication security.

With a network of 15 international and 10 domestic undersea cables in place as of February this year, these links serve as an irreplaceable "digital lifeline" for Taiwan, making their protection an urgent national priority, the ministry said.

Meanwhile, the report tallied 25 disruptions to international undersea cables in deeper waters -- beyond the 24-nautical-mile limit -- last year.

The primary cause of these deep-sea failures was identified as natural disasters, specifically underwater earthquakes, the report noted.