EDITORIAL | Hold China to Account for Intentional Undersea Cable-Cutting

Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration has launched an investigation into an undersea cable-cutting incident in waters to its north. A cargo ship with an all-Chinese crew aboard is suspected of cutting an undersea communications cable in the incident. It follows repeated cases of severed undersea cables in the Baltic Sea in recent years in which the involvement of China or Russia is suspected.

Submarine cables have become core infrastructure essential to the support of a nation's security and economy. They are certain to be targeted by an adversary immediately preceding or during the outbreak of a conflict. Japan should not view the cutting of undersea cable cuts affecting Taiwan and European nations as somebody else's affair.

China's Connection

In the Taiwan case, the suspected cargo ship was registered in Cameroon. However, the vessel's owner has a Hong Kong registry and all seven crew members were Chinese nationals. Since the suspected ship was heading for the port of Busan, the Taiwan Coast Guard has requested cooperation from the authorities in South Korea. Hopefully, the facts in the case will be clarified and made public.

Japan relies on undersea cables for 99% of its communications with other countries. There is a grave danger that should China invade Taiwan, it will not only cut undersea cables in Taiwan's immediate vicinity but also those connecting Japan. That would effectively cut off much of Japan's communications to the outside world.

Experts have pointed out frequent cases of Chinese civilian vessels damaging undersea cables around Taiwan in recent years. Could it be that China has been conducting "gray zone" sabotage?

*Former LDP policy chief Koichi Hagiuda*

Importance of International Cooperation

Koichi Hagiuda, a former Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) policy chief, recently commented on this. In an online program, he said: "When viewed objectively, there are a great many cases which appear to have been intentional. This should be properly addressed (as a problem) at international conferences."

Why aren't Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi making similar statements?

The Japanese government must press China to provide accountability. Notably, the upcoming February bilateral meeting of foreign ministers provides a perfect opportunity to do so.

China's Expanding Global Footprint

In the Baltic Sea, an undersea cable connecting Finland and Estonia was severed on December 25. Finland thereafter seized a tanker registered in the South Pacific nation of the Cook Islands on suspicion of involvement. The tanker, carrying Russian crude oil, had departed a day earlier from a Russian port.

China's shadow has also been looming larger in the Baltic. In November 2025, undersea cables between Lithuania and Sweden were also damaged. A Chinese cargo ship was noted passing near the site at the time the damage occurred. The discovery prompted authorities in the relevant countries to search for the ship.

*NATO Secretary-General Rutte holds a press conference in Brussels.*

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte subsequently pledged to strengthen NATO's military presence in the Baltic Sea. Altogether, the situation highlights the undersea cable situation as a key national security issue for Japan.

Unquestionably, international cooperation is needed to implement monitoring and other measures to protect undersea cables. Japan, Europe, and the United States should also cooperate to ensure rapid service restoration in a disruption.

(Read the editorial in Japanese.)

Author: Editorial Board, The Sankei Shimbun