(pensive music)
- [Narrator] These lines are Taiwan's
14 underwater internet cables
that connect the island to the rest of the world.
(booming sound)
In August, China held military drills
in these six zones on top
of some of this critical infrastructure.
And while Beijing hasn't said these cables are a target,
China's increasing military activity in the region
is putting this vulnerable connection at risk.
- If the communication was not able
to function very well
during the war time that will become a disaster.
- [Narrator] So here's how Taiwan's internet
is under threat
and what the island is doing to beef up and defend it.
Submarine cables are bundles
of fiber optic lines about the thickness
of a garden hose.
98% of international internet traffic
goes through them and the cables surrounding Taiwan play
a critical role in connecting the Asia-Pacific region
to the web.
- North Asia to South East Asia
either goes through Taiwan or nearby ocean.
A lot of country will certainly be impacted
if Taiwan cable has a issue.
- [Narrator] Kenny Huang runs
the Taiwan Network Information Center,
a nonprofit that works with the government
to coordinate cybersecurity research and response.
- Everything rely on the internet.
So the importance of submarine,
just like the blood to our body.
- [Narrator] But this infrastructure is precarious
even when there's no military activity nearby.
Fishing and other maritime activity
can damage the cables,
especially in the busy seas around Taiwan.
And natural disasters like earthquakes
or typhoons are capable
of disabling multiple cables at once.
That happened in December 2006
when an earthquake in Taiwan cut several cables,
drastically restricting communications across Asia.
- During the earthquake,
I remember telecommunication company,
they are only able to maintain some portion
of their voice call.
The data communication was very poorly maintained.
(whooshing sound)
- [Narrator] And security analysts say this infrastructure
could be particularly vulnerable
to being damaged or disabled on purpose.
- If there's a conflict between Taiwan and China,
and they are very high possibility the initial target
could be a cable landing station.
- [Narrator] These dots are Taiwan's landing stations,
the places where a submarine cable connects
to a local network.
The island has four of these locations
and their were focal points during a series of war games run
by a US think tank.
Last year, it explored what Chinese military action
in the region around Taiwan would look like.
In these war games, Chinese teams targeted
Taiwan's landing stations
with missiles and cyber attacks,
which cut off the internet in Taiwan
and severely limited traffic for Japan, Guam and Hawaii.
Each time, China gained the upper hand
because Taiwan's team was forced
to shift its focus away from defense
to restoring its ability to communicate
with the outside world.
To repair any damaged infrastructure,
Taiwan would need help from private companies
and nearby countries like Japan.
But security analysts say any assistance
would be unlikely amid military activity.
Just take a look at what happened
to the Trans-Pacific Express during China's recent drills.
On July 25th, this cable,
which connects Taiwan to other countries suffered a failure
off the north coast of the island.
About a week later,
a Japanese cable repair company dispatched a ship to fix it
but three days later, China's military exercises began
and the ship was unable to fix the connection.
- It's questionable if any maintenance operator
willing to repair a cable
because in the war time,
I believe that would be very tough for them
to do that kind of maintenance.
- [Narrator] China's State Council Information Office
didn't respond to a request for comment
about whether Beijing considers
Taiwan's cable infrastructure a target
and if it would allow repairs during military activity.
So Taiwan is looking to protect itself
by adding more connections to the internet,
like this new cable called Apricot,
which has funding from Meta, Alphabet
and telecom operators in Taiwan, Japan and the Philippines.
It's due to start service in 2024.
And alongside laying more cables,
Taiwan is also looking to create a backup with this.
Low Earth satellite systems like SpaceX's Starlink
can provide internet access
without any physical connections over land or sea.
During a visit to SpaceX's headquarters
in California in July,
Taiwan's Minister of Science and Technology said
the island was committed to continuing its close
and mutual cooperation with the company.
Taiwan's Minster of Digital Affairs said in a statement
that the island's internet is a national security issue
and the government is allocating funds
to multiple solutions,
including 5G base stations and satellite connectivity.
But integrating these options
into Taiwan's communication systems could take years.
- Satellite communication is not something
like a plug and play.
We need to make sure when we need it, it will be in place.
- [Narrator] China, which sees Taiwan as part
of its territory has vowed to take back the island
by force if necessary.
As the risk of a conflict escalates,
the internet is just one of many strategic resources,
as well as ports and manufacturing
that Taipei is stepping up to protect.