Cable Cut in Taiwan

Taiwanese authorities do not consider this an accident, it goes straight to criminal investigation and expects to hold the captain responsible, possibly the crew and the owner, which is Chinese

Taiwan Coast Guard announced yesterday that they had intervened against a cargo ship that allegedly had caused interruption of an international telecommunications cable outside the harbor of Yehliu to the north-east of the island.

Shunxing-39 at the interception location. Photo: Coast Guard

This attack on one or more undersea cables is similar to the recent incidents in the Baltic Sea, displaying a familiar pattern of a civilian vessel involved in damage on infrastructure. Even if the vessel involved is registered in Cameroun, it has Chinese ownership, name and has been active in and out of Shanghai in China.

The Coast Guard released this to the press:

At 0745 hours yesterday (3rd), 4 cores of the submarine international cable were damaged in the waters northeast of Yehliu. The Tamsui Coast Guard of the Coast Guard received a report from Chunghwa Telecom at 1240 hours yesterday. Chunghwa Telecom stated that the dedicated line has other backup equipment. Domestic communications will not be affected. Preliminary research has determined that it was caused by the Cameroonian-registered cargo ship "SHUNXIN39" (Shunxing-39, ed.) passing through the waters.

After receiving the report, the Coast Guard quickly dispatched the Keelung Coast Guard Online Boat 10069 to the scene. At 1640 hours yesterday (3rd), the "S" ship was found in the sea 7 miles north of Yehliu, and the "S" ship was immediately requested to return to the sea outside Keelung Port. Accept the investigation and complete the evidence collection process. Subsequently, Chunghwa Telecom's report records, radar and navigation evidence will be transferred to the District Prosecutor's Office to direct the investigation and investigate the criminal liability and compensation of relevant personnel. Source: Coast Guard, updated 6 January.

In spite of the optimistic statements by the Coast Guard, the ship was only inspected externally at a distance ‘because of bad weather’ prohibiting accessing the ship, and Shunxin-39 is now believed to be underway to its next destination in South Korea. It may also be a convenient excuse because boarding a foreign ship is a controversial act and can lead to diplomatic repercussions.

According to Taiwanese officials, despite the ship displaying a Cameroon flag, there is evidence it is owned by China. The Shunxing-39 is believed to have been purchased by Jie Yang Trading Limited, which is registered in Hong Kong.

The local investigative media Liberty Times Net writes about the case:

He Chenghui, deputy secretary-general of the Taiwan Security Association and the speaker of the political and economic program "Owl News Report", said in an interview with this newspaper that the "Shunxing 39" case that occurred this time still needs further maritime investigation to clarify the case, rights and responsibilities, but China has used Maritime Conflicts Conducting "non-traditional conflicts" and even "grey zone (grey area) operations" against maritime infrastructure is not unfamiliar to Taiwan. Even before "Yipeng 3", the communication cables between Matsu and Taiwan were often towed by Chinese fishing boats.

Ho Cheng-hui pointed out that Taiwan can observe the law enforcement carried out by European countries against the "Yi Peng 3" last month, including tracking the traces and attempts of the vessel responsible for the accident through the vessel's "Automatic Identification System (AIS)". At that time, it departed from Russia and carried a Russian. The Yipeng 3 crew member even turned off his AIS in an attempt to evade capture, but was still blocked by law enforcement agencies from many countries. Germany, Sweden, Denmark and Finland jointly launched an investigation. The toughness and precision of his law enforcement are worth it. Taiwan can learn from this.

He Chenghui warned that this may be a "development test version" of China's gray zone operations. It can be expected that China will use maritime disputes to engage in conflicts in more and more situations in the future, constantly testing the bottom lines of various countries.

As the Taiwanese point out, correctly, the Yi Peng 3 case was pursued by several EU states in unison. The vessel was immobile in international waters surrounded by Danish territorial waters and navy vessels, but it could only be inspected with the consent of Chinese authorities. The latest incident in the Gulf of Finland, with the cargo vessel Eagle S was the most flagrant so far and led to a different outcome. The Finnish Coast Guard managed to ‘convince’ the vessel to deviate from its course and enter Finnish territorial waters. It was then arrested and boarded by Finnish special forces. Russia has claimed that it has nothing to do with the matter, and the ship, crew and cargo are solely spoken for by the shipowners.

International maritime law is very clear that in the high seas, outside national territorial waters, a vessel is a sovereign entity, and cannot be boarded without the consent of the captain and origin authorities. There are of course exceptions in special cases of emergencies and similar, but otherwise, the diplomatic repercussions can be severe. Looking at the reverse side, sanctions against a foreign ship could lead to retaliatory measures against the nation’s own ships. As shipping trade evidently depends on access to foreign ports and facilities, arbitrary restrictions are not only unfriendly and expensive, but could eventually be considered an act of war. That is why the Taiwanese expert mentions that China may currently be testing how far it can go with its grey zone warfare, hybrid warfare, without breaking the red line to actual acts of war.

Status in Finland: Cable owners wants ship as security against the cost of damages incurred.

On Friday, the seizure of the Eagle S ship was heard in the Helsinki District Court. The court decided not to lift the seizure, with the ship’s lawyers protesting against the measure. The ship's owner, Caravella, had filed a motion to have the seizure lifted and demands compensation for damages. Nothing such was granted by the court, and rumors emerged that the ship may have to remain in Finnish custody for the whole winter. The coastal waters are about to ice over anyway, this time of the year. The shipowner’s lawyer demanded the proceedings be public, but the police investigators got the court’s consent to closed doors for ensuring secrecy of the investigations.

According to the Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, the lawyer said: "You can't stop other people's ships in international waters," and added that it amounted to hijacking what the authorities had done to Eagle S. However, the authorities said that the ship entered Finnish waters voluntarily after being ‘urged’. Later, upon inspection and review of the findings, it was moved to the port of Kilpilahti in Porvoo on the Finnish mainland.

Both owners of the cables have filed an application to seize the ship, in order to secure claims for damage caused to the power transmission and telecommunications connection. These legal claims will be processed later in a different process.