The DPP group of the Legislative Yuan held a press conference on the 2nd and 3rd breaks of the Taiwan-Malaysia cable. It believed that the main cause of the damage came from Chinese commercial fishing vessels. Judging from the frequency of the breakage, it was almost an intentional act. It is strongly suspected that there is a national security purpose behind it. (File photo, photo by reporter Fang Bin)
[Central News Agency]The two submarine cables between Taiwan and Matsu have been completely cut off, which has aroused the attention of the outside world. Elisabeth Braw, a columnist for the “Foreign Policy” magazine, believes that the interruption of the Taiwan-Mazu submarine cable may be China’s harassment, or even a further blockade of the Taiwan Union. Do drills for external communications.
Chunghwa Telecom’s two Taiwan-Malaysia submarine cables were disconnected on the evening of February 2 and at noon on February 8 respectively, which severely affected customer communication services in the Matsu area. National Communications Commission (NCC) deputy chairman and spokesperson Weng Baizong said on the 16th that according to Chunghwa Telecom’s information, the Taima 2 submarine cable was cut off by a Chinese fishing boat, and the Taima 3 submarine cable was cut off by an unknown The famous freighter hooked off.
Li Wen, chairman of the Lianjiang County Party Committee of the Democratic Progressive Party, said that because the submarine cable is completely cut, the microwave system is currently used as a backup. For those in the tourism industry, it is currently impossible to use the online system to confirm reservation information, and even the purchase of ferry tickets or air tickets by the public is also affected, causing serious troubles to people’s livelihood.
The cable breakage was suspected to be a deliberate act by a Chinese ship. Industry insiders pointed out two doubts that the two submarine cables from Taiwan and Malaysia were completely cut off within 6 days. Telecom executives admitted frankly that “it is difficult to trace and provide evidence.”
“Foreign Policy” (Foreign Policy) published an analysis yesterday by Blau, a national security expert at the American Enterprise Institute (American Enterprise Institute). Bad, but probably not a coincidence.”
Blau wrote that the United States is paying attention to the sky after the spy balloon incident. At the same time, China may have been operating at sea. exercise”; now Beijing is watching how the inhabitants of Matsu cope with this obstacle to survival and how they manage to connect with the main island of Taiwan.
Blau pointed out that the location of 380 submarine cables around the world is not a secret, and there are maps detailing their locations to ensure that fishing boat trawls do not accidentally damage the cables; the International Cable Protection Committee (International Cable Protection Committee) reports 100 to 200 cables per year Of the damage cases, only 50 to 100 involved fishing boats, while the rest were caused by construction or other activities, “in other words, damage to the cables linking Matsu was disproportionately frequent”.
Blau went on to say that so far the cable breaking incident mainly involved Chinese sand pumping ships, and Chinese ships pumping sand in Taiwan waters is a typical “gray-zone aggression” (gray-zone aggression), except that Taiwan’s coastal patrol ships must be dispatched to respond. It will also harm the ecology and seabed, as well as the operation and external communication of Matsu.
Blau pointed out that Chunghwa Telecom plans to lay another cable buried under the seabed, but this cable will not be in place until 2025. At the same time, Chunghwa Telecom must pay for the backup network system and waive the Internet fee for residents on the island. The repair of the two submarine cables will cost Chunghwa Telecom between US$660,000 and US$1.3 million, “inducing such costs is also part of the gray zone aggression.”
Blau pointed out that the world is facing a shortage of cable-laying ships, which has hindered Chunghwa Telecom’s repair schedule; of the only about 60 cable-laying ships, only 8 are younger than 18 years old, and most of them are between 20 and 30 years old. 2009; these cable-laying ships belong to the private sector, and the market seems to have no interest in improving the situation.
There will be more submarine cables buried under the seabed in the future, but that will also depend on the existing 60 cable-laying ships. This situation provides a good opportunity for countries preparing to cause more “accidents” at sea.
“Cable sabotage could become our generation’s way of blocking — and unlike past generations of blocking, it can be done in the dark,” Blau said. “It’s no wonder other telecoms are looking at Chunghwa’s backup operations, because they too could be blocked.” forcing such measures to be deployed in Taiwan and elsewhere.”
“Hopefully many countries will study Taiwan’s response. Responding to a highly destructive invisible blockade could prove to be one of the toughest diplomatic challenges facing Western governments.”
No need to smoke, no rush, now use the APP to watch the news and guarantee to win the lottery every dayClick me to download APP
According to how I see activities