Analysis – Dark Fear: Taiwan Sees Wartime Weakness in Global Communications Links

Summarize this content to 100 words
Sarah Wu, Yimou Li

Taipei, March 15 (Reuters) – Taiwan scrambles to protect its communications with the outside world from attacks by China, but even in peacetime, it says it has been unable to quickly repair critical undersea internet cables and lacks adequate satellite backup. , experts and officials say.
China, which has never abandoned the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control, is ramping up its military and political efforts to force the democratically governed island to accept its sovereignty.
The Ukraine war has brought a new urgency Efforts in Taiwan This is to bolster security, especially against Chinese cyberattacks and attempts to cut any of the 14 cables that connect the world’s Internet.
“Strategic communication both internally and externally is keeping us up at night, especially in the aftermath of Ukraine,” said Tseng Yi Suo, an analyst at the National Institute for Defense and Security Studies, Taiwan’s top military think tank.

Taiwan has set its sights on low-Earth orbit satellites as a solution, with a two-year trial program Rely on international satellite providers to enhance your internet service.
According to Kenny Huang, CEO of Taiwan Network Information Center, an Internet domain manager in Taiwan, Taiwan’s total satellite bandwidth is about 0.02% of that provided by submarine cables.
Huang said Taiwan has struggled to attract interest from international satellite companies due to strict regulations limiting foreign ownership to a maximum of 49% and a lack of monetary easing. .
“They (foreign companies) have little incentive,” he said. ‘Regulations have to change’
Defense experts say Taiwan can draw lessons from Ukraine’s use of Starlink (a satellite network developed by Elon Musk’s US-based space exploration firm SpaceX), but they see business interests in China. We are concerned about relying on commercial actors with
“Elon Musk, I’m not sure he cares more about the Chinese market,” Tseng said, referring to Tesla’s sales in China. “He’s not going to put all his eggs in one basket.”

Taiwan does not own Starlink terminals. SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment.
Taiwan is also strengthening the resilience of its wartime communication channels for commanders-in-chief, including the president. According to a senior government official and another person familiar with the government’s efforts,
“We are taking notes from Zelensky,” a senior Taiwanese security official said, referring to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s strong social media presence.
Taiwan’s digital ministry said in a statement that it will prioritize Taiwan’s offshore islands for its satellite testing program and further increase the bandwidth of microwave communications with outlying islands by the end of the year. The ministry did not comment on the submarine cable or its repair.
Fixing submarine cables
Taiwan’s vulnerabilities came to the fore last month when two undersea cables connecting Taiwan-controlled Matsu Island off the coast of China were severed, cutting off 14,000 people living there from the internet.
Officials said there was no evidence that Beijing intentionally tampered with the cables, although initial findings indicated a Chinese fishing vessel and a Chinese cargo vessel caused the disruption. China’s Taiwanese office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Chunghwa Telecom switched on a backup microwave system that sent signals from a mountaintop in Taipei to Matsu, but only recovered about 5% of the bandwidth the cable was providing.
This month, the government upgraded the system and internet speeds have improved significantly. But with few cable repair ships in the area, residents will have to wait until late April for internet access to be fully restored.
A senior Taiwan official familiar with security issues said maritime cable vulnerabilities have long been a national security concern and that little progress has been made to address the issue because it is “ridiculous”. Due to the sensitivity of the matter, the individual declined to be named.
“We can’t even fix sea cables ourselves,” officials said.
Li Wen, who heads the Matsu branch of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, described the February suspension as a “warning” to Taiwan.
“Today it was the pine submarine cable that broke,” he said. “What if one day all 14 Taiwanese undersea cables connecting us to the outside world break? Are we prepared enough?”

China will likely target Taiwan’s undersea cables or cable landing stations before launching a full-scale attack, experts say. The move will cause panic, paralyze commercial activity and help Beijing dominate the international narrative.
China’s Taiwan office did not respond to a request for comment.
The Taiwanese military has long prepared preliminary plans for fiber optic networks, satellites, high-frequency radio, and microwave systems for communications within Taiwan.
In any case, the impact on civilians has been severe, and authorities are strengthening Taiwan’s four international maritime cable entry points and running more frequent war simulations involving them, Huang said.
“In emergencies, people want information,” said Chieh Chung, a military researcher at the National Policy Foundation, a Taipei-based think tank. right”
Huang said disrupting communications and causing chaos isn’t the only military impact of cutting cables. Taiwan may find it difficult to coordinate its response to moves that an aggressor cannot use to justify an all-out attack.

“So the first step[for China]is about 99% of the time to cut the sea cable,” Huang said.
(Reporting by Yimou Lee and Sarah Wu; Editing by Gerry Doyle)
((S.Wu@thomsonreuters.com;))

The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/analysis-fear-of-the-dark:-taiwan-sees-wartime-frailty-in-communication-links-with-world Analysis – Dark Fear: Taiwan Sees Wartime Weakness in Global Communications Links