The Chinese director of a firm whose vessel Taiwan suspects of having damaged an undersea communications cable said on Wednesday there was no evidence the ship was involved, an incident that has alarmed the government in Taipei.

In 2023, the outlying Matsu Islands, within view of the Chinese coast, endured patchy internet for months after two undersea internet cables broke. These fiber optic cables that connect Taiwan to the internet suffered about 30 such breaks between 2017 and 2023.

Taiwan suspects China of being behind damage to a crucial subsea communications cable just off its northern coast, which occurred last week.

The incident caused only minimal disruption of service but sent a message about the vulnerability of the island and its internet.