Ukraine War Stokes Concerns in Taiwan Over Its Fragile Internet Links

The war in Ukraine is reviving concerns in Taiwan and some Asia-Pacific nations about the fragility of their internet connections because they rely on undersea cables that could be severed in a Chinese attack. Ukrainians have used the internet to rally resistance to Russia’s invasion, counter Moscow’s propaganda and win international support, including through President Volodymyr Zelensky’s appeals for weapons. Ukraine has extensive internet connections across its land borders and most of the country has remained online despite Russian attacks on internet infrastructure. In contrast, Taiwan, a self-ruled island that Beijing claims, receives and sends about 95 percent of its data-and-voice traffic via cables that lie on the seabed. Currently officials say about 14 cables—bundles of fiber-optic lines about the thickness of a garden hose—are in operation, and they reach land at four locations on Taiwan’s coast. If the cables were to be cut at sea by submarines or divers, or if military strikes were to destroy the lightly protected landing stations, most of the island would be thrown offline.