Taiwan Suspects China in Recent Undersea Cable Attack

Chunghwa Telecom Ensures Connectivity Amid Undersea Cable Disruptions

Chunghwa Telecom, a key member of an international consortium that manages the Trans-Pacific Express (TPE) cable, has successfully rerouted telecom traffic following recent damage to the undersea infrastructure. Despite the disruptions, the company reported that service for users remained uninterrupted. Operating since 2008, the $500 million TPE cable connects East Asia to the United States’ West Coast and plays an integral role in global communications.

Taiwan, however, continues to grapple with mounting challenges to its underwater telecom network. Over the years, the island has faced numerous incidents of cable damage without being able to clearly identify the culprits. In response to these threats, Taiwan has sought stronger international ties and called on the European Union for assistance in bolstering its cyber and telecom defenses.

This latest attack on Taiwan’s undersea cables comes in the wake of a similar incident on Christmas Day, when an undersea power cable between Finland and Estonia was severed. Finnish authorities attributed that damage to Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” of oil tankers.

These “gray-zone” tactics — a term used to describe hybrid aggression that falls below the threshold of open warfare — have become increasingly common since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine three years ago. Both Moscow and Beijing have escalated their testing of Western resilience in the face of these covert and hybrid threats.

As countries such as Taiwan, Finland, and others see their critical infrastructure targeted, the urgency to counter these escalating attacks continues to mount.