Primary Taiwanese news agency Central News Agency (CNA) reported on February 25 that a China-linked cargo ship named Hongtai was suspected of cutting the Tai-Peng#3 undersea communications cable near Taiwan island. The Taiwanese Coastal Guard received a report from China Telecommunications in the early morning on the 25th and sent personnel to the scene. The cargo ship was detained at Anping Port. The case is now under investigation by the Tainan District Inspection Office as a national security level case.
The ship Hongtai, registered with Togo, had eight crew members onboard, all of whom are Chinese. The ship outboard label is Hongtai-168, while its AIS (Automatic Identification System) code shows Hongtai-58. Meanwhile, the name tag Shanmei-7 was found hung on the stern, with a frame and a slider for easy replacement. The ship is load-free, has a clean draft at the time, and the ship body is severely rusted.
In just two months since the beginning of 2025, there have been more than four officially confirmed undersea communications cable cutting incidents. This aroused the vigilance of Taipei and prompted the Taiwanese Naval and other agencies to increase efforts to protect the communication lines. The Taiwanese Coast Guard has established a blacklist, with a total of 52 similar ships included and classified according to the threat level. The Hongtai ship in this incident is on the list, with a Medium classification. The list helped the surveillance on Hongtai and its swift detention.
Sources:
(1) CNA, February 25, 2025
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/asoc/202502250144.aspx
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/asoc/202502250353.aspx
(2) DW Chinese, February 26, 2025
https://tinyurl.com/4jxa6n8f