In a recent development, a Chinese ship captain has been sentenced to three years in a Taiwanese prison for intentionally damaging an undersea telecommunications cable near the self-ruled island.

The captain, identified as Wang, along with his Togolese-registered cargo ship Hongtai, was apprehended in February after reports emerged of a cable connecting the Penghu archipelago and Taiwan being severed.

Following a trial at a district court in southern Taiwan, Wang was found guilty of violating the Telecommunications Management Act by destroying the submarine cable, leading to his three-year imprisonment.

According to the court, Wang instructed two crew members to drop the ship's anchor in waters off southwestern Taiwan, despite being aware that anchoring in that area was prohibited due to the risk of damaging the subsea cable.

The anchor failed to secure in the seabed, causing the ship to drift, resulting in the complete severance of the cable by the time Taiwan's coast guard intervened and ordered the anchor to be lifted.

While Wang admitted negligence, he denied any deliberate wrongdoing and has the option to appeal the sentence.

The court emphasized that the evidence presented was sufficient to establish Wang's criminal behavior and that the punishment served as a warning.

Chunghwa Telecom, the telecom company responsible for the cable, incurred over NT$17 million (US$578,000) in repair costs as a result of the incident.

Notably, Wang is believed to be the first Chinese ship captain to face charges for damaging an undersea telecommunications cable, with the remaining crew members set to be deported without facing any charges.

Taiwan currently operates 14 international underwater cables and 10 domestic ones, with previous cable breakages attributed to natural wear and tear or actions involving Chinese vessels.

The Taiwanese coast guard had previously flagged the Hongtai, along with 51 other Chinese-owned ships flying flags of convenience from various countries, for close monitoring.