Jun 12, Kathmandu - A Chinese national has been sentenced to three years in prison for damaging an undersea cable connecting Taiwan Island and the Penghu Islands in the Taiwan Strait. The man, surnamed Wang, was the captain of the Togolese-registered ship Hong Tai 58. The ruling was the first to be handed down by the Tainan District Court on Thursday after reports of undersea cables being cut around Taiwan in recent years.

Taiwan has accused China of sabotaging its cable, saying it was a tactic to exert pressure on the self-governing island, which China claims. China has denied any role in the incidents and called them “ordinary maritime accidents.” China has said Taiwanese officials have exaggerated the incidents.

These undersea cables carry all of the world’s internet traffic. According to the International Cable Protection Committee, the world’s submarine cable system experiences between 150 and 200 breakdowns each year. Taiwan has 10 domestic and 14 international submarine cables.