The Chinese director of a firm whose vessel Taiwan suspects of having damaged an undersea communications cable said on Wednesday there was no evidence the ship was involved, an incident that has alarmed the government in Taipei.

In 2023, the outlying Matsu Islands, within view of the Chinese coast, endured patchy internet for months after two undersea internet cables broke. These fiber optic cables that connect Taiwan to the internet suffered about 30 such breaks between 2017 and 2023.

The incident raises concern China will try to cut all undersea cables to Taiwan in the event of a military invasion, so Taiwan is racing to develop a satellite-based internet service.

BEIJING - China on Jan 8 accused Taiwan’s ruling party of having “deliberately hyped” an incident in which a Chinese-owned ship was suspected of damaging a subsea telecoms cable.

A Taiwanese freighter is accused of deliberately dragging its anchor to cut an internet cable directly linking Taiwan to the U.S. East Coast.

Taiwan suspects China of being behind damage to a crucial subsea communications cable just off its northern coast, which occurred last week.

Taiwanese authorities are investigating the severing of an undersea telecommunications cable near the island's northern coast, suspecting the involvement of a Cameroon-registered cargo ship with the Chinese name Shunxin-39.

The incident caused only minimal disruption of service but sent a message about the vulnerability of the island and its internet.