China probe finds Taiwanese men controlled ship that cut undersea cables

"China has accused two Taiwanese nationals of leading a smuggling operation involving a Chinese-crewed vessel that damaged subsea cables in February, in an incident that has stoked tensions between the countries. The public security bureau in Weihai, in China's eastern Shandong province, said on Wednesday that a probe into the incident showed that two Taiwanese men had been operating the ship involved the Togo-registered Hong Tai 58 as part of a longstanding operation smuggling frozen goods into China."

"In comments carried in Chinese state media, China's Taiwan Affairs Office accused Taiwan's governing Democratic Progressive Party of falsely claiming that Beijing had used the Hong Tai 58 to deliberately sabotage an undersea cable off the island in a bid to stir cross-Strait confrontation. Taiwan has accused Beijing of severing the cable as a so-called grey zone or hybrid warfare tactic to apply pressure on the self-ruled island of 23 million people, which China views as its territory."

"Seven Chinese crew members were sent back to China without charge, and were interviewed by authorities on the mainland as part of their probe into the incident. Announcing the probe's findings, the Weihai public security bureau offered a reward of up to 250,000 yuan ($35,569) for information or assistance regarding the Taiwanese suspects, who it said had the surnames Chien and Chen."

Chinese authorities say a probe found two Taiwanese men operated the Togo-registered Hong Tai 58 as part of a longstanding operation smuggling frozen goods into China and that the vessel damaged subsea cables in February. Taiwan has accused Beijing of severing the cable as a grey-zone or hybrid warfare tactic to pressure the self-ruled island; Beijing denies deliberate involvement and calls the incident a common maritime occurrence. A Taiwanese court sentenced the Chinese captain of the Hong Tai 58 to three years for intentionally damaging the cables. Seven Chinese crew members were returned to the mainland. Weihai police offered a reward for information on the Taiwanese suspects, named Chien and Chen.

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