Chinese authorities have said that two Taiwanese nationals were behind a smuggling operation involving a Chinese-crewed vessel that damaged subsea cables near Taiwan earlier this year.

On Wednesday, the public security bureau in Weihai, in China’s eastern Shandong province, said its investigation showed that two Taiwanese men controlled the Togo-registered vessel Hong Tai 58, which damaged undersea cables off Taiwan in February.

The bureau said the ship was part of a multi-vessel operation used to illegally transport frozen goods into China.

The findings followed interviews with seven Chinese crew members who had been serving on board the Hong Tai 58. The crew were previously sent back to mainland China without charge after being detained by Taiwanese authorities.

The case gained international attention in June after a Taiwanese court sentenced the Chinese captain of the Hong Tai 58 to three years in prison.

The court found him guilty of intentionally damaging subsea cables off Taiwan’s coast, a ruling that raised concerns in Taipei about the security of critical maritime infrastructure.

China has rejected claims that the cable damage was deliberate or state-directed. Beijing has previously accused Taiwan of making premature accusations and manipulating the case to suggest Chinese involvement before investigations were complete.

Chinese authorities have described the incident as a common maritime occurrence that was exaggerated by Taiwan.

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office has accused Taiwan’s governing Democratic Progressive Party of provoking confrontation across the strait.

At a weekly briefing, a spokesperson said Taipei had ignored the facts of the case and exaggerated the incident for political reasons, while accusing Taiwan of tolerating smuggling and using the issue to harm cross-strait ties.

As part of the latest announcement, the Weihai public security bureau said it was offering a reward of up to 250,000 yuan (about $35,569) for information leading to the arrest of the two suspects, identified by the surnames Chien and Chen. The bureau said the men have been on a Chinese customs wanted list since 2014.

Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council responded by stating that the Chinese Communist Party has no jurisdiction over Taiwan. The council said that publicly naming individuals and offering rewards without presenting concrete evidence was not a civilised practice, and urged Chinese authorities to substantiate their claims.

Since 2023, at least 11 subsea cable breakdowns have been reported around Taiwan, although some were later attributed to accidents or old infrastructure.

References: Reuters, Aljazeera