Taiwan-Matsu No. 3 subsea cable damaged off Dongyin during Chinese salvage barge operation

Chunghwa Telecom reported a malfunction in the Dongyin-Beigan section of the Taiwan-Matsu No. 3 submarine cable on the evening of 30 March 2026, and Taiwan's Ministry of Digital Affairs (MoDA) subsequently confirmed partial damage to some of the cable's core wires. According to MoDA, the affected point lies about 2.64 km off Dongyin Island in Lienchiang County (Matsu), and the cause is under investigation. Traffic was rerouted via microwave and other links without a service outage, and the ministry estimated that repairs would be completed no earlier than July 2026.

Taiwanese media linked the damage to the Chinese-flagged salvage barge Hai Hong Gong 66, which was working to recover the grounded Chinese fishing vessel Min Lian Yu 63896 near Dongyin, less than 30 nautical miles from mainland China. As reported by Focus Taiwan (CNA), the barge had earlier followed an unusual meandering track near the cable infrastructure. Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration halted the operation, boarded the barge and detained 11 crew members, questioned the captain, and referred the case to the Lienchiang District Prosecutors' Office. Maritime Executive noted that officials framed the event as suspected damage under investigation rather than confirmed sabotage, since the vessel was openly conducting a salvage job, and the Taipei Times reported it as the third disruption to the No. 3 cable in four years.

MoDA states the cause remains under investigation; the link to the Chinese salvage barge comes from the Coast Guard referral and Taiwanese media, not from a confirmed finding, so deliberate sabotage is suspected by some commentary but not proven, with international reporting cautioning that the damage may have been incidental to the salvage work. This is reported as the third cut of the Taiwan-Matsu No. 3 cable in four years and fits the recurring Matsu pattern Taipei frames as gray-zone pressure, alongside the Taiwan-Matsu No. 2 cable and the earlier TPKM3 cable case. This entry may change as the prosecutors' inquiry and new public information emerge.