Taiwan-Matsu subsea cable breaks again; microwave backup keeps Dongyin online
Cable No. 3 broke ~2.64km off Dongyin in April 2026; Chunghwa Telecom switched 1,500 residents to microwave links as a court jailed a Chinese captain over an earlier cut
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Summary
The Taiwan-Matsu subsea cable No. 3 broke about 2.64km off Dongyin in April 2026, knocking out the Beigan-Dongyin segment for ~1,500 residents; Chunghwa Telecom activated microwave backup so voice and data kept running, and Taiwan's Ministry of Digital Affairs said repairs would finish by end-July, weather permitting. The break is the latest in a run of Matsu failures Taipei reads as Chinan gray-zone pressure: in June 2026 a Taiwanese court jailed the Chinese captain of the Hong Tai 58 for three years for intentionally damaging cables, while a January incident severed a Taiwan-Asia-US link. Beijing calls them routine accidents. Taiwan is hardening Internet Infrastructure with microwave and low-Earth-orbit backups.
By the numbers
- ~2.64 km, distance of the No. 3 break off Dongyin.
- ~1,500, Dongyin residents affected; microwave kept them connected.
- 3 years, sentence for the Hong Tai 58 captain (June 2026 verdict).
- End-July 2026, Chunghwa Telecom's repair target.
Why it matters
Matsu has become a live laboratory for cable-cutting as coercion and for the backups that blunt it. The pattern, repeated cuts, Chinese-crewed vessels, Beijing's accident framing, is what Taiwan warns could precede a strait crisis, making redundancy a defence priority.
What to watch
- Whether repair completes on schedule and any new Matsu or main-island cuts.
- Taiwan's rollout of LEO-satellite and microwave backup beyond Matsu.
- Further prosecutions or new vessel detentions by the coast guard.