Chinese captain charged with damaging undersea cable near Taiwan

For the first time in Taiwan’s history, a Chinese captain has been formally charged with intentionally damaging an undersea telecommunications cable. The trial could have serious consequences amid geopolitical tensions with Beijing.

The incident occurred in February 2025, when the Togolese-flagged cargo ship Hong Tai 58, operated by a Chinese crew, disrupted telecommunications links between Taiwan and the Penghu Islands, allegedly by dropping and hauling in anchor. Captain Wang was detained by the coast guard and later formally charged by the Tainan City Prosecutors’ Office with damaging infrastructure.

Prosecutors said Wang had shown a “bad attitude,” refused to cooperate, and failed to provide any information about the ship’s owners. The remaining crew members, also Chinese citizens, will be sent back to China without charge.

• The island of Taiwan is a self-governing territory that Beijing considers part of itself since 1949. Since then, Taiwan has become a multi-party democracy and a world leader in microchip production. In recent years, Taipei has regularly accused the PRC of waging hybrid warfare: from cyberattacks to information campaigns.
• Damage to submarine cables is a new threat vector. Similar incidents have already been recorded in the Baltic Sea – Russia is suspected in many of them. In the case of Taiwan, the disruption of infrastructure has not only economic but also symbolic consequences, especially when it comes to connections between islands.

The charges against the captain are not just a local court case, but a powerful signal to the entire region. Taiwan is demonstrating that it is ready to fight to protect its critical infrastructure through legal means. Damage to cables in such geopolitically sensitive areas could be part of Beijing’s broader hybrid strategy, and the international community should pay attention to new security challenges in the maritime environment.