Taiwan and China traded barbs over what the government in Taipei suspects was a Chinese-linked ship's damage to an undersea communications cable off the island's coast, an incident that has raised alarm bells on the island.

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.

HONG KONG/TAIPEI (Reuters) - 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.

Taiwan's coast guard has said that it suspects a ship damaged an undersea communications cable over the weekend, but that bad weather prevented its personnel from boarding the vessel to investigate.

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.

Taiwan is investigating damage to an undersea cable near Yehliu, suspected to have been caused by a Cameroonian-registered cargo ship with links to mainland China, amid growing concerns over maritime sabotage worldwide.

On Wednesday, China's Taiwan Affairs Office dismissed the accusations, claiming undersea cable damage is part of common maritime accidents. It claimed Taiwan was making baseless accusations against China and exaggerating “so-called grey zone threats.”

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

By bno - Taipei Bureau Taiwan’s investigation into damage to an undersea communications cable has sparked heightened tensions, with a Chinese-registered vessel emerging as a key figure in the case. The incident,