According to the latest data from a well-known maritime analysis platform, a Chinese research vessel has been lingering above the undersea cable connecting the United States and Taiwan in the Pacific Ocean. Analysts pointed out that this behavior is typical of intelligence-gathering activities.
The maritime analysis platform Windward recently tracked data and found that a research vessel flying the flag of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been hovering at low speed for an extended period of time above the Pacific Light Cable Network, which connects the United States, Taiwan, and the Philippines.
The undersea cable system is located in the Philippine Sea and spans approximately 8,000 miles (about 12,875 kilometers).
A video obtained by a publication showed the CCP research vessel, measuring around 200 feet (about 61 meters) in length, being previously warned by Taiwan’s Coast Guard to alter its course.
The Pacific Light Cable Network became a geopolitical focus in 2020 when the U.S. regulatory authorities, citing national security concerns, blocked its original plan to connect to Hong Kong, fearing data interception by Chinese intelligence agencies. The project was later revised to connect only the United States, Taiwan, and the Philippines.
About 99% of global intercontinental internet communication traffic relies on such undersea cable transmission.
Experts at Windward stated that undersea cables themselves do not move, and prolonged slow hovering by a vessel above them is one of the most typical signs of maritime intelligence activities.
Windward is a leading global maritime artificial intelligence (AI) and predictive intelligence company that provides real-time analysis of global ship dynamics and risk management by integrating multi-source data and generative AI technology.
The identity of the vessel and its Maritime Mobile Service Identity have not been disclosed, but Windward mentioned that the vessel had appeared multiple times near the Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands, which are territories disputed among China, Vietnam, the Philippines, and extended its route to the Bay of Bengal and near Sri Lanka.
Although Beijing has consistently denied it, it is widely believed that due to its policy of military-civil fusion, data collected by Chinese research vessels is likely provided to the military.
Amid ongoing military and maritime pressure on Taiwan, including near-daily dispatches of military aircraft flying through the Taiwan Strait median line and expanded patrols near Kinmen controlled by Taiwan, experts note that Beijing has been sending coast guard and research vessels to the eastern waters of Taiwan since June to normalize the presence of Chinese vessels in the area.
In recent years, a number of undersea cable incidents have been linked to vessels flying the flag of the People’s Republic of China, including suspected cable damage in the Baltic Sea.