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\"It was very inconvenient,\" said the 35-year-old from Matsu's Beigan island, where customers struggled to book or pay online due to slow connectivity. \"We all heavily depend on the internet.\"
The cut-off not only caused headaches for businesspeople such as Wang, it also highlighted Taiwan's digital vulnerability at a time of heightened menace from China.
The two cables were severed about 50 kilometres (30 miles) from Matsu in the Taiwan Strait within days of each other.
Locals, as well as Taipei's Communications Commission, said Chinese fishing vessels or sand dredgers -- which often drop anchor or scrape the seabed in Taiwanese waters -- may have done the damage.
\"I think China is aware of the situation... it would have been easy to restrain such an act of sabotage but it didn't,\" senior lawmaker Cheng Yun-pen from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) told AFP.
For its part, China describes itself as a responsible fishing country and Beijing's foreign ministry has denied the involvement of its fishing crews.
There have been nearly a dozen such incidents since 2021, and Taiwan's authorities are seeking solutions.
\"If an internet outage can happen for Matsu, could a similar incident happen for (the rest of) Taiwan?\" said Lii Wen, director of the DPP's Matsu office.
While cables linking Taiwan's outlying Matsu and Kinmen islands are shallow enough to be threatened by fishing vessels, experts say that even the more deeply laid cables along the main island's north, west, and south are susceptible to sabotage.
Undersea cable repair requires specialised crews and can cost several million dollars.
While its lines were cut, the Matsu archipelago -- home to about 10,000 people and only a few miles from the Chinese mainland -- relied on a patchy mountain-based microwave backup system until repairs in late March.
Authorities are seeking a sturdier alternative on a Taiwan-wide scale.
Taipei's digital ministry told AFP it has a two-year, $18 million plan to place satellite receivers in 700 places at home and abroad, to maintain government communications \"during emergencies such as natural disasters or wars\".
The ministry said it was \"willing to cooperate with any qualified satellite service provider\".
Recent war games around the island by China -- which sees self-ruled Taiwan as its territory, to be taken by force if necessary -- underlined the urgency.
The drills came after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen's visit to the United States, where she met House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
During that trip, two US lawmakers reportedly talked with Tsai about the island using Elon Musk's Starlink satellite system -- which has been deployed in Ukraine since its invasion by Russia.
SpaceX did not respond and Taiwan's presidential office declined a request for comment.
Digital disruption<\/strong>
Experts say the disruption in places such as Matsu has already furnished Beijing with invaluable intelligence.
\"It definitely offers an opportunity for China to observe the digital resilience of the military and civilians in Matsu,\" said Tzeng Yi-suo, a military expert in Taipei.
Fishermen in Matsu, who rely on digital signals to take customers' orders, described the frustrating disruption.
\"The (internet) speed was very, very slow, or the messages even couldn't get through. When people called me, the line was cut before I could finish even one sentence,\" said Wang Chia-Wen, 45.
The weeks-long drop in communications there also gave a flavour of what life would be like for Taiwan's 23 million people -- including its political and military elite -- if they were cut off.
Analysts say the main island's undersea cables<\/a> could be cut by unmanned Chinese submarines, and their terrestrial terminals attacked with rockets or special forces.
\"China's invasion would try to pick off Taiwan's communication settings,\" said Richard Hu, a retired general and military expert at the National Chengchi University.
\"The incidents this time have increased the doubt concerning Taiwan's readiness level.\"
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读到
说:“这是很不方便的35岁的马祖Beigan岛,顾客难以书或网上支付由于缓慢的连接。“我们都严重依赖互联网。”
截止不仅导致头痛等商人,它还强调了台湾的数字一次脆弱性加剧的威胁来自中国。
两电缆切断了大约50公里(30英里)从台湾海峡的马祖在几天内。
当地人,以及台北的通讯委员会说,中国渔船或砂挖泥机——经常抛锚或刮在台湾海域海底——可能已经做了伤害。
“我认为中国意识到情况……就容易抑制这种破坏行为,但没有,”郑高级议员Yun-pen从执政的民进党(DPP)告诉法新社。
就其本身而言,中国自称是一个负责任的渔业国家和北京外交部否认了钓鱼的参与人员。
自2021年以来已经有近十几个这样的事件,和台湾当局正在寻求解决方案。
“如果马祖的网络故障可能发生,类似的事件可能发生的(其他)台湾?”Lii温说,民进党的马祖办公室主任。
而电缆连接台湾边远马祖和金门岛屿是浅足以威胁到渔船,专家说,即使是更深入地铺设电缆沿主岛北部,西,南易受破坏。
海底电缆修复需要专业人员和花费几百万美元。
而行被削减,妈祖群岛——大约10000人的家园,只有几英里从中国大陆——依赖于片状mountain-based微波修复3月底之前备份系统。
当局正在寻求一个坚固的替代Taiwan-wide规模。
台北的数字部告诉法新社两年,在700年1800万美元的计划将卫星接收器在国内外的地方,保持政府通讯”期间突发事件如自然灾害或战争”。
卫生部表示,“愿意合作的任何合格的卫星服务提供商”。
岛周围最近的战争游戏,中国——认为自治的台湾是其领土,是使用武力,强调了紧迫感。
演习是在台湾蔡英文主席访美国,在那里她会见了众议院发言人凯文·麦卡锡。
那次旅行期间,据报道,两名美国国会议员和蔡岛使用Elon Musk我们的卫星系统,部署在乌克兰从俄罗斯的入侵。
SpaceX和台湾的总统办公室拒绝没有回应记者的置评请求。
数字中断
专家说,中断在马祖等地已经提供北京宝贵的智慧。
“这肯定为中国提供了一个机会来观察数字的弹性在马祖岛的军事和平民,“Tzeng Yi-suo说,军事专家在台北。
马祖岛的渔民,他们依靠数字信号采取客户的订单,描述了令人沮丧的中断。
”(互联网)的速度非常慢,甚至消息打不通。当人们叫我,线被切断之前我能完成甚至一个句子,“王说Chia-Wen, 45。
长达通信也下降了味道,生活会是什么样子的台湾2300万人——包括其政治和军事精英们——如果他们剪除。
分析人士说,主岛的海底电缆可以减少无人中国潜艇,陆地终端与火箭或特种部队袭击。
“中国的入侵会尽量选择台湾的通信设置,”理查德•胡表示退休将军和军事专家国立政治大学。
“这次的事件增加了疑问关于台湾的准备水平。”
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