Taiwan is actively monitoring its subsea communications infrastructure following recent incidents involving ships. The Coast Guard Administration recently reported the deportation of a Chinese fishing boat captain, Wu, who admitted guilt and paid fines for damaging a cable. This incident occurred in October 2025, when Chunghwa Telecom reported an outage on its Taiwan-Malaysia Submarine cable. The Coast Guard located Wu’s vessel about 4.2 nautical miles offshore, leading to his detention and subsequent confession.
In court, Taiwanese officials emphasized Wu’s experience, arguing he should have been aware of the clearly marked submarine cables, which were located in a designated no-anchor zone. Despite this, the fishing boat, named Minlianyu 60138, deployed its nets in the area, resulting in entanglement with an abandoned anchor and subsequent damage to the cable. The court deemed the captain negligent and sentenced him to three months in jail, which could be converted to fines and restitution.
Wu arranged to pay approximately $2,850 in court fines and around $7,900 to Chunghwa Telecom. His deportation was approved by the Mainland Affairs Council and executed on January 8. The Coast Guard emphasized adherence to the law, noting that another Chinese captain was sentenced to three years in prison for intentionally damaging a different subsea cable in February 2025. Taiwan has increased monitoring of critical offshore infrastructure, particularly concerning older Chinese-owned vessels registered under flags of convenience.
