TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's Ministry of Digital Affairs (MODA, 數位發展部) responded swiftly to a report from Chunghwa Telecom (中華電信) on Tuesday (Feb. 25) about a complete break in the TPC-3 submarine cable. This incident, located 14.7 km off Tainan's Beimen, prompted immediate investigations by the Ocean Affairs Council's Coast Guard Administration (海洋委員會海巡署) to determine the cause.
To mitigate potential disruptions from the TPC-3 cable break, the MODA instructed Chunghwa Telecom to reroute communications traffic to alternative submarine cables. This measure aims to maintain seamless communication between Taiwan and the outlying islands of Penghu and Kinmen. The ministry also requested the coordination of a cable repair ship, already docked in Kaohsiung on Feb. 2, to expedite repairs after completing work on the TKM-3 and TKM-2 cables.
Chunghwa Telecom indicated that if weather conditions permit, repairs for the TKM-3 and TKM-2 cables could conclude as early as late February and late March, respectively. Meanwhile, the ministry has sought approval from the Executive Yuan (行政院) to classify all 14 international and 10 domestic offshore cables as critical infrastructure (CI). This classification will bolster the resilience of communications networks for Taiwan's outlying islands.
The ministry plans to enhance communication stability through diverse backup and response mechanisms. These include deploying asynchronous satellite stations at government critical nodes, subsidizing telecom operators to expand microwave capacity and submarine cable construction, and ensuring uninterrupted daily communications for the government and the public.
