In 2023, the outlying Matsu Islands, within view of the Chinese coast, endured patchy internet for months after two undersea internet cables broke. These fiber optic cables that connect Taiwan to the internet suffered about 30 such breaks between 2017 and 2023.

Taiwan and China traded barbs over what the government in Taipei suspects was a Chinese-linked ship's damage to an undersea communications cable off the island's coast, an incident that has raised alarm bells on the island.

A Chinese-owned cargo ship suspected of damaging a subsea telecoms cable off Taiwan has stopped transmitting its location on the high seas, Taiwan's coast guard said Tuesday.Taiwan has asked South Korean authorities for assistance in the investigation into the ship after rough seas prevented them boarding the vessel near northern Taiwan,

Taiwanese authorities and some analysts say the Chinese vessel, which operates under two different flags, could be carrying out China’s gray zone operations against Taiwan

The incident caused only minimal disruption of service but sent a message about the vulnerability of the island and its internet.

The incident raises concern China will try to cut all undersea cables to Taiwan in the event of a military invasion, so Taiwan is racing to develop a satellite-based internet service.

A Taiwanese freighter is accused of deliberately dragging its anchor to cut an internet cable directly linking Taiwan to the U.S. East Coast.

Taiwan's coast guard said it sent a ship to investigate a report on Friday from telecoms provider Chunghwa Telecom that an undersea communications cable had been damaged off the island's north coast.

Taiwan's coast guard has said that it suspects a ship damaged an undersea communications cable over the weekend, but that bad weather prevented its personnel from boarding the vessel to investigate. T