"Wartime Scenario" Unfolds As Taiwan Suspects Chinese Ships Cut Undersea Internet Cables

"According to Taiwanese authorities, on Feb. 2, a Chinese fishing boat damaged an
undersea communications cable that connects Taiwan's main island to Matsu Islands. About one week later, a Chinese cargo ship severed another cable. 

Located approximately 30 miles off the coast of China, the tiny island of Dongyin has quickly established a backup communication system, as reported by the WSJ. The new system uses a high-powered microwave radio to transmit data to Taipei. WSJ described the disruption as a "wartime scenario" and "in a potential preview of a Chinese attack."

If Western military planners learned anything from the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia made a considerable effort to severe internet infrastructure in the Eastern European country in the early days of the war.

The Ukraine war has demonstrated how vital the internet can be to a smaller country facing invasion, for both mustering global support and coordinating resistance. If China were to cut Taiwan's cables, most of the island would be thrown offline, leaving it vulnerable. --WSJ

The loss of internet across the Matsu Islands has alerted Taiwan to the potential national security threat posed by Beijing, which considers the island nation part of China." ZH