TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — National Security Bureau Director Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) warned of possible Chinese gray zone sabotage on Taiwan’s infrastructure at a Legislative Yuan hearing on Wednesday (May 1).
According to CSIS, gray zone tactics are “an effort or series of efforts beyond steady-state deterrence and assurance that attempts to achieve one’s security objectives without resorting to direct and sizable use of force."
Tsai said the Taiwan-Matsu submarine cable has been severed around 20 times within the past few years, which was highly unusual, CNA reported. However, further analysis of Chinese fishing vessel routes must be conducted to determine whether these incidents were deliberate.
Tsai pointed out the cable was part of Taiwan’s critical infrastructure. There are 14 international cables and 10 domestic cables around the nation’s waters, he said.
Tsai said the Ministry of Digital Affairs primarily focuses on international submarine cables, but domestic and international submarine cables are equally important.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) expressed concern that two backup submarine cables that connect Taiwan to Matsu, were damaged by Chinese fishing vessels last year, leading to communication disruptions. However, it was also unclear whether the incident was deliberate.
The depth of the Taiwan-Matsu submarine cable ranges from about 30 meters to 100 meters, and it is situated near an area often affected by China's gray zone tactics, Hung said.
Hung called on the Cabinet to include the Taiwan-Matsu submarine cable in its list of critical infrastructure.
Since 2020, China has conducted near-daily military flights and navy operations into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone and across the Taiwan Strait median line. Last month alone, the Ministry of National Defense detected Chinese military aircraft 247 times and naval vessels 176 times.