(Central News Agency reporter Dai Yazhen, Tokyo, 1st) Japanese media reported that four Chinese survey ships have continued unusual activities in specific waters around Taiwan since May this year, including repeated slowdowns, ship stops and irregular turns, and the scope of their activities overlaps with the international submarine cable laying route. Experts analyze that China may be preparing to cut off submarine cables in emergencies such as "something happens in Taiwan."
The Yomiuri Shimbun reported that ingeniSPACE, a geospatial intelligence analysis company based in the United States and Taiwan, discovered through data analysis such as the Automatic Identification System (AIS) of ships that four Chinese survey ships had abnormal navigation patterns in the waters surrounding Taiwan, and were suspected of collecting intelligence on submarine cables on a large scale.
These four ships are the "Xiangyanghong 22" owned by the Ministry of Natural Resources of China, the "Tongji" and "Jia Kee" owned by Shanghai and Fujian Provincial Universities, and the Chinese ship shown as MUSHANZI on the AIS.
According to information obtained by the Yomiuri Shimbun, "Xiangyanghong 22" has sailed back and forth in specific waters in northern Taiwan many times since May, repeatedly showing signs of slowing down, stopping ships, and making irregular turns; "Jiageng" has shown similar activities in the waters of eastern Taiwan, and MUSHANZI has shown similar activities in the Bashi Channel in the south; "Tongji" has sailed around Taiwan's main island many times, and stopped or slowed down at several specific locations.
ingeniSPACE used its own method to confirm the main submarine cable laying routes and compared AIS data. It was found that the sea areas where the four ships slowed down or stopped overlapped with the locations of submarine cables connecting Taiwan and other places and overseas.
A Taiwan official said in an interview that the information and analysis provided by the company are consistent with the situation known to the Taiwan authorities, and therefore the analysis results are considered reasonable. Another Taiwanese official also said that the possibility that Chinese survey ships are collecting intelligence on undersea cables cannot be ruled out.
In recent years, there have been a series of incidents in Taiwan where submarine cables were allegedly deliberately cut or damaged by ships. The Taiwanese authorities have pointed out that China may be involved in related cases.
Since submarine cables carry a large amount of international communications, once the deep-sea cable is cut off, repairs may take more than a week. Taiwan is warning that China may destroy the cable by pretending to be an accident, causing communication interruptions and social chaos, and launches gray zone operations.
Taiyo Tsuchiya, a professor at Keio University in Japan, analyzed that the activities of the Chinese survey ship may have taken the destruction of submarine cables into consideration. The investigation target may not only be the location of the cable, but also the submarine topography, water depth and current conditions in the area where the cable is laid.
The report mentioned that Jason Wang, chief operating officer of ingeniSPACE, said that Chinese ships were also observed in waters near Japan and the Philippines similar to those around Taiwan. "China is preparing for gray zone operations in the event of an emergency along the first island chain, which is the vast area extending from southern Kyushu through Taiwan to the Philippines," he said.
Chisao Masao, a professor at Kyushu University in Japan, said that Chinese ships are suspected of investigating the movements of international submarine cables around Taiwan and Japan, and they seem to be preparing for trouble in Taiwan or a conflict between the United States and China.
She pointed out that China may plan to cut off submarine cables on Japan's Pacific side if necessary, thereby disrupting Japanese society and hindering connections between Japan and the United States. China's interference actions against Taiwan in the past may also be extended to Japan in the future.
Masao analyzed that Chinese President Xi Jinping has long attached great importance to ocean expansion and has actively promoted global ocean surveys since taking office as the supreme leader. However, related activities have recently been refocused around Taiwan and Okinawa, which may be related to China's attempt to control the Western Pacific and collect maritime intelligence.
She emphasized that China may use civilian technology to paralyze the opponent's response capabilities while avoiding direct conflict with its opponent. In addition to military defense, Japan must also strengthen the protection of important infrastructure and formulate a comprehensive China strategy covering non-military fields.
