Because an undersea cable was cut, Taiwan is racing to develop a satelite-based internet service. The incident occurred on Friday, 1/3/2025, when local communications provider Chunghwa Telecom reported a disruption to the undersea cable. Taiwan's coast guard dispatched a vessel to the site and discovered a Hong Kong-owned cargo ship about 7 nautical miles from the undersea cable. A preliminary investigation has since determined that the vessel was likely responsible for the damage. Although the undersea cable was damaged, Chunghwa Telecom was able to reroute internet communication through backups. The damaged cable belongs to Trans-Pacific Express, which links China, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, and the US.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    The ship was found using two sets of automatic identification system equipment, allowing it to broadcast two separate IDs to international maritime systems. Taiwan's coast guard also says the vessel is registered to a Hong Kong company called Jie Yang Trading Limited and that seven crew members on board are Chinese nationals. In 2023, two Chinese vessels also damaged an undersea cable to an island north of Taiwan, temporarily cutting residents off from the internet. Taiwan is considering working with Amazon's Project Kuiper on satelite internet access to the island, although the company is still working to launch its first commercial satelites. Taiwan does not want to use Space X because of concerns of Elon Musk's ties to China.