Chen Yu-lin, the owner of a bed and breakfast, has had to inform his guests in the last month that he was unable to offer them internet access.

Residents of Matsu, an outlying island of Taiwan located closer to neighboring China, have had to deal with challenges such as paying their electricity bills, scheduling doctor appointments, and receiving packages.

Matsu’s population of 14,000 relies on two submarine internet cables that connect them to the outside world via Taiwan’s main island, the Associated Press reported.

According to the National Communications Commission, the island’s telecommunications service has attributed the cutting of the cables to two Chinese vessels.

The first cable, located approximately 50 kilometers (31 miles) out at sea, is believed to have been severed by a Chinese fishing vessel. The second cable was cut by a Chinese cargo ship on February 8, six days after the first incident, as per the NCC.

The Taiwanese government refrained from labeling it a deliberate action by Beijing, as there was no direct evidence to implicate the Chinese ships in the incident, as reported by the AP.

Written by staff