'Natural deterioration' behind latest Taiwan undersea cable issue: MODA

Taipei, Jan. 22 (CNA) The disconnection of two undersea communication cables linking Taiwan and the Matsu Islands was due to "natural deterioration" rather than possible sabotage, the Ministry of Digital Affairs (MODA) said Wednesday.

Chunghwa Telecom reported that one of the cables was disconnected at around 5 a.m. Wednesday and the other was reported disconnected on Jan. 15, said Deputy Digital Affairs Minister Herming Chiueh (闕河鳴) at a news conference in Taipei.

With the Jan. 15 cable yet to be repaired, Chiueh said backup microwave communication was immediately activated after Wednesday's cable failure.

"We will prioritize allocating bandwidth [provided by microwave communication] to critical infrastructure [on the Matsu Islands], which includes government agencies, banks, and hospitals," Chiueh said.

The two disabled cables had a combined transmission capacity of 1,310 Gbps (gigabits per second), but while the bandwidth provided by microwave communication can only reach 12.6 Gbps, it still exceeds the Matsu Islands' usual peak daily traffic of 9.5 Gbps, Chiueh said.

The recent disconnections sparked questions over whether they might have been related to the cutting of an international undersea communications cable off Taiwan's northeastern coast on Jan. 3.

A China-related freighter is suspected of damaging that cable, but Chiueh said the MODA's initial assessment categorized the damage to the domestic cables between Taiwan and the Taiwan-held Matsu Islands as cases of "natural deterioration."

"Based on intelligence gathered this morning... no suspicious vessels were detected in the area where the disconnection occurred," Chiueh said.

The information gathered included a playback from the Coast Guard Administration's coastal radar and Chunghwa Telecom's analysis, which utilized data from the Automatic Identification System (AIS) and another radar system called "SAWS."

Chiueh also suggested that winter is typically a period when the natural deterioration of undersea cables occurs more frequently due to strong ocean currents.

Repairs of the two domestic cables could be completed as early as February, weather and sea conditions permitting, according to the MODA.

Taiwan is currently served by 14 international undersea communication cables and 10 domestic cables.

Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan's largest telecom service provider, is 35.29 percent owned by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications and owns and operates all 10 domestic undersea cables in Taiwan, including the two connecting Taiwan and the Matsu Islands.