Taiwan's coast guard detained a cargo ship and its Chinese crew on Tuesday for investigation into a possible deliberate cutting of an undersea internet cable. The Togo-flagged vessel, crewed by eight Chinese nationals, was suspected of damaging the cable connecting Taiwan to the Penghu Islands. The ship had been lingering near the cable off Taiwan's southwestern coast and did not respond to coast guard broadcasts.
After the vessel dropped anchor, Taiwan's telecom company detected the cable disconnection. The coast guard intercepted and boarded the ship, escorting it to Tainan for further investigation. Authorities are considering the incident as a potential Chinese 'gray zone operation,' falling below the threshold of war.
