https://taiwanstrait.com/tags/infrastructure-sabotage/ Recent content in Infrastructure Sabotage on Taiwan Strait Hugo en-us Fri, 01 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://taiwanstrait.com/chinas-undersea-cable-war-against-taiwan/ Fri, 01 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://taiwanstrait.com/chinas-undersea-cable-war-against-taiwan/ <p>The cables that carry Taiwan&rsquo;s internet traffic run along the seafloor, mostly invisible, largely undefended, and increasingly targeted. Since 2023, a sustained pattern of sabotage — carried out by Chinese-linked vessels operating under flags of convenience and falsified identities — has emerged as one of Beijing&rsquo;s sharpest tools of gray-zone pressure. The plausible deniability is deliberate. So is the damage.</p> <h2 id="a-documented-pattern-not-a-coincidence">A Documented Pattern, Not a Coincidence</h2> <p><citation>In early 2023, Chinese-registered vessels severed two undersea cables linking Taiwan&rsquo;s Matsu Islands to the main island, cutting internet access for roughly 13,000 residents for nearly two months.</citation> It was framed as an accident. The pattern since has made that framing implausible.</p>