BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s government said on Wednesday that Taiwan was “manipulating” possible Chinese involvement in the latest severing of an undersea communications cable, saying the island was casting aspersions before the facts were clear.
Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has repeatedly complained about “grey zone” Chinese activities around the island, designed to pressure it without direct confrontation, such as balloon overflights and sand dredging.
Taiwan’s coast guard said it detained a China-linked cargo ship on Tuesday after a nearby undersea cable to the Penghu Islands in the sensitive Taiwan Strait was disconnected.
Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, told reporters in Beijing that damage to undersea cables were a “common maritime accident” which occur more than a hundred times a year globally.
“While the basic facts and the people responsible for the accident have not yet been clarified, the Democratic Progressive Party authorities have deliberately exaggerated the situation in an attempt at political manipulation, which will not enjoy popular support,” she said, referring to Taiwan’s ruling party.
Taipei was alarmed after a Chinese-linked ship was suspected of damaging another cable earlier this year, prompting the navy and other agencies to step up efforts to protect the undersea communication links, which are vital to the island’s connections to the rest of the world.
Taiwan, whose government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, has pointed to similarities between what it has experienced and damage to undersea cables in the Baltic Sea following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Taiwan has pointed the finger at ships which are actually Chinese but carry “flags of convenience” of other countries.
Last month, Taiwan’s government said Chinese ships flying flags of convenience have “the mark of evil about them”.
Taiwan has also complained about repeated patrols by China’s coast guard in restricted waters around the Kinmen islands, which are controlled by Taiwan but sit very close to the Chinese cities of Xiamen and Quanzhou.
China says the patrols are for routine law enforcement, having begun them last year after two Chinese nationals died trying to flee Taiwan’s coast guard after their boat entered prohibited waters near Kinmen.
On Wednesday, Taiwan’s coast guard said the Chinese coast guard had been carrying out such missions on average four times a month.
“An analysis of their sailing patterns shows that they have become ‘routine harassment’ not ‘law enforcement inspections’,” Taiwan’s coast guard said in a statement.
“This has not only affected the atmosphere across the Taiwan Strait, but also undermines regional peace and stability.”
(Reporting by Beijing newsroom; Writing and additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Taipei; Editing by Michael Perry and Sonali Paul)
