Chinese-owned ships flying flags of convenience have repeatedly damaged undersea cables around Taiwan, which has become a common tactic in Chinese “gray zone” warfare. The goal of such moves is to cut off Taiwan’s connections to the world, test the nation’s resilience and interfere with economic activities.
Over the past few years, the undersea cables connecting Taiwan and Penghu County have been damaged multiple times, with most of the ships involved having Chinese backgrounds. However, due to various issues brought on by flags of convenience, it is often difficult to enforce bans and seek damage claims, which poses an invisible long-term threat.
On Tuesday last week, a Togo-flagged Chinese freighter, the Hong Tai (宏泰號), anchored in Taiwan’s territorial waters, allegedly resulting in damage to the Taiwan-Penghu No. 3 cable. Coast Guard Administration (CGA) officials took the risk of boarding the freighter and ordered the crew to navigate the ship back to the Port of Anping in Tainan for investigation.
Such vessels typically have extremely high freeboards — often more than one story tall. CGA personnel had to cross rough seas and climb to board the ship, making it an extremely risky operation.
China’s “gray zone” harassment at sea has already forced the CGA to invest significant workforce and resources to respond, with each operation full of danger.
It is regrettable that legislators from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) have cut the CGA’s budget, reducing funds for the construction of new vessels and equipment updates, thereby limiting its law enforcement capabilities. The CGA’s original plan to procure new vessels, equipment and personnel training budgets have been cut, which would make it increasingly difficult to crack down on ships flying flags of convenience in the future. As Chinese vessels encroach Taiwan’s waters more frequently, law enforcement officers lack the necessary support — that would weaken Taiwan’s ability to promptly respond to maritime threats, thereby impacting the nation’s strategic security.
China has repeatedly used ships flying flags of convenience to carry out destructive activities around the world. That has not occurred only once or twice, and Taiwan is not China’s only victim — that trend would only continue to worsen.
In facing this harsh reality, Taiwan’s only defense remains the brave efforts of its CGA personnel. Despite aging vessels, insufficient equipment and staffing shortages, they continue to risk their lives to safeguard Taiwan’s maritime security. If KMT and TPP legislators do not loosen their budget restrictions, the government would be unable to provide adequate support to the CGA and Taiwan would be left to bear even greater risks and losses in the face of “gray zone” conflict.
Elliot Yao is a reviewer.
Translated by Kyra Gustavsen
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