Manila Eyes Taiwan Ties to Guard Undersea Cables

The Philippines is exploring deeper cooperation with Taiwan to protect undersea cables, a Philippine diplomat said Wednesday. Manila is doing so “notwithstanding” its own one-China policy. Practical security needs, in other words, are starting to outrun diplomatic formalities.

Felipe F. Carino III, Manila’s deputy chief of mission in Washington, made the remarks at a seminar at Washington’s Center for a New American Security. He called for a “pragmatic and practical approach” with Taiwan to protect shared interests in the Bashi Channel, the waterway between Taiwan and the Philippines.

The Stakes for Global Data

The figures Carino cited help explain the urgency. Undersea cables carry nearly all intercontinental data flows, he said, and “60-67% of cyber incidents happen in our region.” That’s the backbone of commerce, finance and communications, and it sits on the seabed with little physical protection.

“These are very important features that should be protected, so much so that we are exploring deeper cooperation with our friends in Taiwan,” Carino said. He connected cable security to wider tensions in the South China Sea, though he didn’t mention China by name.

A Pragmatic Partnership

Carino said the two sides were exploring “practical and more pragmatic approaches in cooperation, including knowledge-sharing and capacity building.” He added: “We see this cooperation leading towards ... addressing the gray-zone issues in our part of the world.”

Asked whether the arrangement could extend to joint patrols or accountability for vessels that disrupt communications, Carino said he didn’t have details. He didn’t rule it out, either. “I’m sure that this is a constantly evolving cooperation,” he said, “and some of the things that you mentioned may be actually coming to fruition.”

Manila’s one-China policy recognizes Beijing, not Taipei. That makes the diplomat’s framing notable. Instead of waiting for formal recognition questions to be settled, the Philippines is putting shared practical interests first.

Pressure Without Confrontation

The Philippines and Taiwan have repeatedly complained about Chinese activities they say are designed to pressure them without direct confrontation. China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has overlapping claims with Taiwan and the Philippines in the South China Sea.

The concerns aren’t abstract. Taipei has stepped up efforts to protect undersea communications links, vital to the island’s connections with the rest of the world, after several incidents involving cables and China-linked vessels. This month, the Philippine coast guard said it deployed its largest vessel and an aircraft to challenge a Chinese research ship operating off northern Batanes province near undersea cable corridors.

Taiwan’s Response

At the same seminar, Andrea Yang, Taiwan’s deputy representative in Washington, pointed to the jailing in Taiwan of a Chinese ship captain over damage to an undersea cable. It’s a case where Taiwan’s domestic law applied to conduct that threatened critical infrastructure.

Yang said Taiwan would put more resources into developing unmanned systems to improve maritime surveillance. She also said undersea cable interference should be taken up by the United Nations, which should consider mechanisms to prevent “bad behavior.”

Why This Matters:

Undersea cables carry the data underpinning modern markets. Protecting them is a core function of any state that wants open commerce to keep flowing. This episode shows two neighbors choosing practical, capability-building steps, such as surveillance, knowledge-sharing and coast guard deployments, instead of waiting for multilateral bodies to act. Taiwan’s call for a UN mechanism may take years to bear fruit, if it does at all, while cables stay exposed today. The Philippines’ willingness to cooperate despite its one-China policy suggests that when infrastructure and sovereignty are at stake, governments will look for workable partnerships first and settle the diplomatic labels later. Whether that cooperation expands into joint patrols remains an open question.