The Achilles’ heel of the digital age lies beneath our oceans: fragile undersea cables that, when severed, can plunge entire regions into digital darkness. Undersea cables are the lifelines of modern economies: they carry over 95 percent of the world’s internet traffic, making them one of the most critical—yet vulnerable—pieces of infrastructure in the 21st century. When these cables go dark, everything from banking transactions to emergency response systems can grind to a halt. These fiber-optic lines stretch across the seafloor, making them ideal targets for sabotage with minimal resources, while creating just enough plausible deniability for malicious actors to dodge any consequences. To date, Taiwan’s limited response to China’s cable cutting (see discussion below) has not conveyed a desire to deter further action. Taipei should increase its response capabilities to monitor and intercept ships loitering near cables, develop domestic cable repair capabilities, and invest in alternative connection platforms such as satellite-based internet. In early 2023, Chinese-registered vessels severed two undersea cables, knocking Taiwan’s Matsu Islands offline. China’s preferred explanation is that these incidents are just unfortunate maritime accidents. Beijing claimed that the 2023 incidents were a coincidence, and even blamed Taiwan for manipulating the facts. Given that the Taiwan Strait is one of the world’s busiest waterways, with more than 1,000 cargo ships passing through weekly, accidental damage by anchors or fishing nets is not impossible. However, more recent disruptions, and Chinese-flagged vessels lingering near key cable locations, suggest a more disturbing pattern.

Full in-depth : China’s Undersea Cable Sabotage and Taiwan’s Digital Vulnerabilities.