Redazione RHC : 6 November 2025 07:33
Taiwan is critically dependent on its undersea infrastructure, which is essential for communications and power supply . In recent years, however, there have been a series of incidents of damage and malicious cutting of the cables connecting the island to the rest of the world.
Former Slovak Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad’ called these facilities a veritable “invisible battlefield,” emphasizing that their compromise by a potential adversary could have direct consequences for military decisions and strategic security. Nad’ called on Taiwan and European countries to work together to develop a system of shared responsibility for submarine safety.
The island is connected to the world by 14 international undersea cables that carry over 99% of external internet traffic. These connections to North America, Northeast Asia, and Southeast Asia form Taiwan’s digital backbone.
According to Huang Sheng-hsiung, president of the Taiwan Network Information Center (TWNIC), the rate of damage to undersea cables in the country is 25 to 50 times higher than the global average . The main causes include trawling, illegal sand mining, and anchor entanglement.
While there is no direct evidence linking these incidents to operations orchestrated by Beijing, Huang emphasized that the anomalous frequency of incidents around Taiwan suggests a significant human factor.
On the night of February 25, 2025, the Taiwan-Penghu No. 3 cable was completely severed. Chunghwa Telecom immediately notified the Coast Guard and the Ocean Affairs Council, who stopped the Togolese cargo ship Hong Tai approximately six nautical miles from the port of Tainan Jiangjun.
The vessel, suspected of having ties to Chinese investors, was taken to the port of Anping. Captain Wang, accused of anchoring in a prohibited area, was found guilty of violating the Telecommunications Management Act and sentenced to three years in prison by the Tainan District Court. The verdict is still subject to appeal.
Ocean Affairs Council President Kuan Bi-ling said similar incidents are occurring, with ships remaining in Taiwanese waters and, taking advantage of adverse sea conditions, deliberately cutting cables. Kuan did not rule out the possibility that the Chinese Communist Party’s so-called “gray zone” was behind these operations.
On October 28, at the “Taiwan-Europe Undersea Cable Security Cooperation Forum 2025,” organized by the Center for Science, Democracy and Society (DSET), the Formosa Club, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jaroslav Nad’ recalled that 97% of global Internet communications and approximately $10 trillion in financial transactions pass through undersea cables.
“If these cables are damaged or intercepted, military operations, logistics, and intelligence gathering are immediately impacted. This is a form of hybrid warfare that is difficult to attribute,” he explained.
The former minister emphasized that sabotage incidents often occur in exclusive economic zones and that many vessels involved disable their automatic identification systems (AIS) to conceal their position. “When it comes to acts of aggression, it’s dangerous to delay a response: the risk increases with time,” he added.
Nad’ warned that cable sabotage could cripple military command capabilities, preventing leaders from receiving up-to-date data and leading to strategic errors. He cited NATO simulations of possible transatlantic cable cuts by Russian submarines and a Chinese documentary demonstrating the ability to operate at depths of 4,000 meters.
According to Nad’, the worst possible scenario is the interception or manipulation of military messages, which could cause large-scale operational paralysis.
The former minister called on Taiwan and Europe to build joint accountability and transparency mechanisms, suggesting publicly denouncing those responsible for sabotage, as has already been done for Russian activities in the Baltic Sea.
In late 2024, two undersea cables in the Baltic Sea broke at the same location, raising suspicions of sabotage. Although subsequent investigations have discounted the “hybrid war” hypothesis , Nad’ explained that the vessels involved were owned by companies registered in Asia but operated by Russian firms. ” It’s a complex picture,” he concluded, “but the increasing frequency of these acts suggests a deliberate strategy of destabilization.”
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