Taiwan’s coast guard detained a cargo ship and its Chinese crew after damaging an undersea cable in the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday, saying it did not rule out the possibility that it was a deliberate “grey zone” action.
Grey zone actions are covert, ambiguous and low-intensity tactics used to achieve strategic objectives without provoking open hostilities, something Taiwan has often said China employs around the island under its administration.
The Taiwan Coast Guard Authority, or CGA, said it received a report of cable damage from its telecoms service on Tuesday morning and dispatched personnel to apprehend a Togo-registered Hong Tai 58 vessel that anchored near the cable off Taiwan’s southwestern coast around the time it was disconnected.
“The suspected Togo-flagged cargo ship, Hong Tai, was found to be a Chinese-invested convenience-flag vessel with all eight crew members being Chinese nationals,” CGA said.
From Saturday to Tuesday, the Hong Tai vessel remained stationary near the damaged Taiwan-Penhu No. 3 submarine cable, prompting the Taiwan Coast Guard to conduct surveillance and attempt radio contact, which went unanswered, according to the CGA.
The vessel was later escorted to the port of Anping, although initial attempts to disembark failed due to rough seas, the coast guard said, adding that the case was being treated as a national security issue.
“Authorities are not ruling out the possibility of a Chinese gray-zone operation,” the agency said.
Lin Jian, a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry, said at a briefing on Tuesday that he was not aware of the situation but added that it was not a “diplomatic issue.” He did not elaborate on the details.
Taiwan has reported five cases of faulty offshore cables this year, compared with three each in 2024 and 2023.
In 2023, for example, two undersea cables connecting the Mazzu Islands were cut, causing an internet outage. At the time, Taiwanese authorities said two Chinese vessels caused the outage, but there is no evidence that Beijing deliberately damaged the cables.
