Taiwan’s coastguard said it detained eight mainland Chinese crew members of a cargo ship suspected of damaging an undersea communication cable early on Tuesday.
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The Togo-registered Hong Tai was intercepted and escorted to Taiwan after it dropped anchor in the area at around 3am, when the cable connecting the Penghu Islands – an archipelago west of Taiwan – was damaged.
The coastguard said all of the crew members were mainland Chinese nationals, and the vessel “has a history of mainland Chinese financing”, without providing further details.
“The cause of the undersea cable breakage, whether due to intentional sabotage or an accident, is pending an investigation,” the coastguard said in a statement.
“The possibility of … grey-zone harassment cannot be ruled out,” the coastguard said, adding that investigators “will make every effort to find the truth”.
Grey-zone tactics refer to coercive actions that fall short of armed conflict.
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