The captain denies the charges and has refused to say who owns the ship.

Taiwanese authorities believe the ship dropped anchor off the island’s coast, damaging a cable.
Taiwan prosecutors on Friday, April 11, for the first time charged the captain of a Chinese ship with intentionally damaging undersea cables. The incident occurred in February and has raised concerns among authorities amid heightened tensions with China. Reuters reports

The man, surnamed Wang, was captain of the Hong Tai 58, a Togo-registered vessel. Taiwanese authorities believe the ship dropped anchor off the island’s southwest coast, damaging a cable.

The captain denies the charges and has refused to say who owns the vessel. Prosecutors say he has been reluctant to cooperate. Seven other crew members will not be prosecuted and will be returned to China.

The media reports that this is the first such prosecution in Taiwan. The island nation’s Ministry of Digital Technology said that there have been five cases of damage to submarine cables this year, compared with three in 2023 and 2024.

Taiwan has stepped up monitoring of its maritime infrastructure, including tracking about 100 suspicious vessels linked to China but registered in other countries.