In a first, Taiwan charges Chinese ship captain with damaging undersea cables

For the first time, Taiwanese prosecutors on April 11 charged a Chinese ship captain with intentionally damaging undersea cables off the island in February, after a rise in sea cable malfunctions alarmed Taiwan's officials amid tensions with China.

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TAIPEI —

Prosecutors said the man was captain of the Chinese-crewed Hong Tai 58, registered in Togo, which the Taiwanese authorities detained after suspecting the ship had dropped anchor near an undersea cable off south-western Taiwan, damaging it.

The prosecutors' office in the southern Taiwanese city of Tainan said they had charged the Chinese captain, whom they identified by only his family name Wang, with being responsible for damaging the cable.

Wang has said he is innocent, but refused to provide details of the ship's owner and "had a bad attitude", the prosecutors said.

Seven other Chinese nationals detained at the same time will not be charged and will be transported to China, prosecutors said, adding that the case was the island's first prosecution over damaging sea cables.