Prosecutors in Taiwan have indicted the Chinese captain of a ship registered under the flag of Togo for allegedly damaging an undersea communication cable. The incident took place in waters around Taiwan in February.



The Tainan District Prosecutors Office said on Friday that the captain was charged with contravening the telecommunications management law.



He is suspected of ordering his crew to drop anchor and sail in a zigzag, apparently to damage a cable linking Taiwan's main island with the Penghu Islands in the Taiwan Strait. Dropping anchor is prohibited in the area.



The captain reportedly denies the allegations and refuses to speak about the ship's owner, who likely instructed him to carry out the act. Prosecutors maintain that it is necessary to question him further.



But they decided not to charge the captain's seven crew members due to a lack of evidence.



Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration does not rule out the possibility of "gray zone" operations by China, given the nationality of the ship's crew. The term refers to subversive activities that stop short of an armed attack.