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# Taiwan Tests Backup Communications After Cable Break Near China
- URL: https://broadbandbreakfast.com/taiwan-tests-backup-communications-after-cable-break-near-china/
- Published: 2026-06-09T20:30:38.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-18T21:49:07.000Z
- Description: The outage shows Taiwan can keep remote territories connected as officials prepare for emergencies.
- Author: Zach Stark
- Tags: Wireless, #with-siderail, Taiwan, Matsu Islands, Dongyin, microwave, China, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Public Safety, Democracy, network outages

WASHINGTON, June 9, 2026 – For Taiwan, a broken cable is not just a service outage. It’s a preparedness test for war.

After an undersea cable serving Dongyin, a remote and militarily significant island in the East China Sea, broke in late April, [Taiwan activated microwave backup communication](https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/taiwan-activates-backup-communications-outlying-island-after-undersea-cable-2026-04-30?ref=broadbandbreakfast.com). The incident offers a test of emergency connectivity as Taiwan works to harden communications for remote areas amid a possible conflict with China.

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[According to Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/taiwan-activates-backup-communications-outlying-island-after-undersea-cable-2026-04-30/?ref=broadbandbreakfast.com), the break was not attributed to sabotage, but it unfolded against a backdrop of growing concern that communications links to Taiwan’s outlying islands could become targets or pressure points in a crisis with China.

Taiwan is an island democracy in the western Pacific, about 100 miles off the southeastern coast of mainland China. It has roughly 23.3 million people, according to [official household registration data](https://eng.stat.gov.tw/Point.aspx?sid=t.9&n=4208&sms=11713https://eng.stat.gov.tw/Point.aspx?sid=t.9&n=4208&sms=11713&ref=broadbandbreakfast.com). Beijing claims it as part of China, while Taiwan has its own elected government, military and foreign policy. The dispute has made Taiwan’s communications infrastructure a strategic concern. 

Matsu is a Taiwanese territory of particular strategic importance. The islands are among the closest Taiwanese-controlled territories to mainland China. The question of whether the United States should defend Matsu was debated by **John F. Kennedy** and **Richard Nixon** [during the 1960 presidential campaign](https://www.c-span.org/clip/public-affairs-event/user-clip-quemoy-and-matsu-in-the-october-7-1960-presidential-candidates-debate/4815123?ref=broadbandbreakfast.com). 

The backup system kept mobile phone, voice, and internet data services operating normally on Dongyin, a Matsu island, though cable television was unavailable and some internet services could experience minor weather-related delays. 

Taiwan has long worried about the vulnerability of undersea cables linking its outlying islands. In 2023, two undersea cables [connecting the Matsu islands were cut](https://apnews.com/article/matsu-taiwan-internet-cables-cut-china-65f10f5f73a346fa788436366d7a7c70?ref=broadbandbreakfast.com), disconnecting internet service. Taiwan authorities said two Chinese vessels caused that disruption, though they said there was no evidence Beijing deliberately tampered with the cables. 

The Russia-Ukraine war has demonstrated the [growing significance](https://www.csis.org/analysis/cyber-war-and-ukraine?ref=broadbandbreakfast.com) of communications infrastructure in contemporary conflicts, accentuating the need for emergency preparedness. 

The government’s success with providing emergency service is a strong indicator that systems such as microwave links and low-Earth-orbit satellite trials can keep strategically important communities online when undersea cables fail.