Chinese ship cuts submarine cable off Taiwan: detained
A Chinese cargo ship cut an underwater communication cable off the west coast of Taiwan. The Coast Guard stopped and detained the ship.
This is reported by the Financial Times, Censor.NET informs with reference to Economical Pravda.
It is noted that this is the first such case since Taipei announced the fight against China's "shadow fleet".
Taiwanese border guards stopped the vessel and confirmed that it belonged to China. The crew, which consisted exclusively of Chinese citizens, was taken into custody.
This is not the first such incident. In recent months, damage to submarine cables has been reported off Taiwan and in the Baltic Sea. In November, a Chinese bulk carrier passed over two data cables in the region around the same time they were cut.
Taipei has tightened controls on Chinese ships since the cable damage incident in January. The authorities have created a blacklist of ships that they say will now be monitored more closely.
The detained vessel and its crew were returned to the port. The case was handed over to the prosecutor's office for investigation.
