TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A suspected Chinese freighter has been detected off north Taiwan for nearly a week, raising concerns about undersea cable sabotage.
On Jan. 6, a Mongolian-flagged freighter with the Mandarin name “Bao Shun” was spotted taking an erratic course over subsea cables off north Taiwan, prompting the Coast Guard to drive the vessel away. The ship then moved north of Pengjia Islet and in and out of Taiwan's 22 km (12 NM) territorial waters in a southwest-northeast direction for five days, per Liberty Times.
On Jan. 3, Cameroonian-flagged Chinese freighter “Shun Xing 39" was suspected of damaging an undersea cable off the Port of Keelung. The CGA's Ocean Affairs Council on Jan. 7 said all seven crew members are Chinese nationals and the shipowner is based in Hong Kong.
When the Shun Xing 39 was suspected of cutting submarine cables, it turned off at least two of its automatic identification systems (AIS), making it disappear from tracking systems. However, the Bao Shun continued its movements with its AIS active and was monitored by the Coast Guard.
When confronted by a Coast Guard patrol boat on Jan. 6, the ship's captain claimed the main engine had malfunctioned and it would leave after repairs. It then turned to waters north of Keelung's Pengjia Islet but continued to circle in and out of Taiwan's territorial waters during the week, covering approximately 575 km (311 NM) and moving at an average speed of less than 5.5 kph (three knots).
On Sunday, the Bao Shun changed course to the southwest at 1 p.m. By 8:36 p.m., the vessel had reached the edge of Taiwan's contiguous zone 44 km (24 NM) from the northern coast and continued to sail southwest along the outer perimeter of Taiwan's territorial waters.
DPP lawmaker Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) was cited by FTV News on Sunday as saying that the Bao Shun's path is related to Taiwan's 10 subsea cables. Wang said Taiwan and other countries, especially the Baltic nations, are monitoring the matter.