Wall Street Journal: Taiwan, NATO Step Up Cable Protection Amid China-Russia Threats

'The Wall Street Journal' reported that from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific, a global effort to protect undersea cables is underway, with governments, militaries, cable owners, and tech startups taking action to enhance the global undersea cable network. China and Russia deny involvement in cable cutting incidents worldwide, and Western officials face the difficulty of proving that involved captains acted on orders from Beijing or Moscow, especially since many involved vessels fly the flags of third countries. The report analyzed that in the Asian region, Taiwan is strengthening coast guard patrols and increasing penalties for cable damage to deter potential saboteurs. A researcher at the Hudson Institute, formerly a legislator in Taiwan, Xu Yuren, recently testified before the U.S. Congress, stating in his written testimony that attribution challenges have paralyzed the international community's response mechanisms. Xu Yuren testified that cables leading to Taiwan were cut in 2023 and 2025 with unusual precision, exactly in areas that could cause maximum disruption. The Tainan District Court previously ruled that a Chinese captain of a ship flying the Togolese flag was convicted of intentionally damaging a cable in February of last year and sentenced to three years in prison. The Chinese government, however, claimed the incident should be attributed to smuggling activities by the Taiwanese side. Relevant Taiwanese authorities also pointed out that they are currently investigating another Chinese vessel that may have damaged a cable near Taiwan's outlying islands last month. As for other Asian countries, Singapore has a plan that has been in place for several years, aiming to roughly double the number of cables connecting to the city-state to over 50, from the current 30-plus. Private cable operators are seeking routes that avoid contentious waters, such as laying cables closer to the Philippine coast. Contentious waters include the South China Sea, where Chinese vessels have clashed with Philippine ships. In Northern Europe, since a Russia-linked vessel cut a crucial cable in 2024, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is using ships, drones, and aircraft to patrol the Baltic Sea to prevent possible deliberate damage. (Editor: Chen Yanjun) 1150410