Taiwan Calls for Arrest of Captain of Boat Intercepted After Cable Break

A Taiwan court ordered the captain of a Chinese ship that allegedly cut an undersea telecommunications cable off the island to remain in detention on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, Taiwan's coast guard announced it had intercepted the Hongtai, a Togolese ship with a Chinese crew, after it cut an undersea telecommunications cable near Taiwan's Penghu archipelago.

The Hongtai, which flew a flag of convenience, had eight Chinese nationals on board and was financed by China, the coast guard said.

Flag of convenience ships are those that operate under a flag other than that of their owners' country, which is sometimes interpreted as an indication of illicit or illegal activities.

The Tainan District Court in southern Taiwan has called for the arrest of the ship's captain, surnamed Wang.

"Wang destroyed the submarine cable, causing the interruption of communications between the islands, which affected government and social functions," the court said in a statement.

"The disruption of communications may result in danger to the public. The crime is not minor and has caused a certain degree of harm," the court said.

Wang who denied any wrongdoing.

The other crew members have been banned from leaving Taiwan for the duration of the investigation, prosecutors said.

The Hongtai was spotted about six nautical miles (11 kilometers) northwest of the fishing port of Jiangjun in the Penghu Islands and was intercepted by the coast guard after the cable linking Penghu to Taiwan snapped.

The Ministry of Digital Affairs has ordered Chunghwa Telecom, the telecommunications company affected by the cable rupture, to transfer voice communications and Internet services for Penghu to other undersea cables to avoid disruptions.

Taiwan is connected by 14 international submarine cables and 10 domestic submarine cables, which are of great strategic importance to telecommunications.

Taipei authorities have expressed growing concern since a Chinese cargo ship was suspected of cutting one of these cables in the northeast of the island earlier this year.