TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Chunghwa Telecom announced that repairs to the Taiwan-Matsu No. 3 undersea internet cable were completed on Sunday and regular service has been restored. 

Normal internet traffic and data transmission were restored via the No. 3 cable early Sunday morning, reported CNA. Thanks to Taiwan’s resilient IT infrastructure, internet service was never completely severed for users in Lienchiang County, commonly known as the Matsu Islands. 

On Jan. 15, the No. 3 cable connecting Taiwan to the Matsu Islands was suddenly disconnected. A week later, on Jan. 21, the Taiwan-Matsu No. 2 undersea cable was also disconnected, with initial statements pointing to “natural degradation” as the reason. 

After each disruption, Taiwan immediately contacted international undersea cable repair teams to address the issues. As repairs were ongoing, in mid-February, the No. 2 undersea cable suffered an abnormal disruption on Feb. 16.

Due to weather conditions caused by the northeast monsoon season, repairs on both undersea cables have been slower than normal. According to earlier reports, the No. 2 cable is expected to be fully repaired sometime in late March. 

Construction of a new undersea cable is also underway. The Taiwan-Matsu No. 4 cable is expected to be operational sometime in 2026.

Despite challenges to internet stability, Chunghwa Telecom has been able to avoid complete disruptions to critical infrastructure thanks to a robust network of satellites and microwave transmission systems to back up the undersea cable network.   

Another incident of a damaged undersea cable was reported on Feb. 25, when the Taiwan-Penghu No. 3 undersea cable was severed. The number of recent incidents has led many to speculate that Chinese agents may be responsible for sabotaging Taiwan’s undersea internet cables.