Did China damage Taiwan’s internet service? 

Earlier this month, the Taiwanese government reported damage to an undersea cable connecting their islands to the People’s Republic of China. They suspect foul play by mainland China, but they have yet to present evidence. This week, yet another cable was damaged, but this time, Taiwan claims it was due to natural wear and tear. (See this article for an explanation of the Taiwanese-Mainland Chinese politics, history, and nature of their conflict). 

What are these undersea cables for? Why do some international policy experts express concern over examples of Russia and mainland China allegedly damaging these undersea cables?

Submarine cables make the internet work 

Modern society is built upon systems and technology that fewer and fewer people understand. The internet, for example, connects billions of people and devices, disseminating unfathomable amounts of information at near-light speed. The primary way the internet, text, and phone calls are internationally connected is not through satellites, as most probably assume, but through cables. 

Around 99 percent of international data flows through undersea, or “submarine,” cables. Cables function around eight times faster than satellites. Private telecommunication companies, as well as the likes of Google, Amazon, and Meta, own these cables.

Although internet service is likely the most crucial for day-to-day life, undersea pipelines can also carry gas, power, and more. For example, the Nord Stream 2 pipeline carried gas from Russia to Germany. In 2022, the pipeline was sabotaged with explosives—some blamed Ukraine, others the US, and still others Russia. To this day, the international community hasn’t determined the culprit.

So, why does Taiwan think mainland China sabotages its undersea internet cables? The answer has to do with something called gray zone tactics.

What are gray zone intimidation tactics?

A gray zone refers to conflict between countries that doesn’t involve explicit warfare. China’s creation of islands in the South China Sea to assert a more expansive claim to watery territory is a good example. 

How might they damage a submarine cable? At times, such damage can be accidental, such as when a peaceful merchant ship drops anchor and accidentally ruptures an undersea cable. However, a fishing vessel could theoretically be co-opted by the government to “accidentally” drag its anchor across the sea floor and wreck the cable.

The frequency of Russian and Chinese “neutral” vessels “accidentally” destroying submarine cables causes many commentators to treat it like an open secret that these actors are intentionally damaging their enemy’s property. Tactics like these disrupt internet service, create chaos, and instill intimidation by the aggressor countries. 

An analogy for spiritual warfare 

Instead of finding a tenuous practical application of this knowledge, I wanted to draw an analogy. Much like we can use GIF reactions on Facebook to comment on a European’s post without understanding the mechanism of how undersea cables work, we interact with the spiritual world without always understanding the underlying mechanism. 

The Bible rarely peels back the curtain of the physical to reveal how the spiritual world works; instead, the authors focus on how God’s people interact with the spiritual world. 

As Paul writes, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” 

How do we wrestle with spiritual darkness? One verse earlier, he instructs us: “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.”

In addition to putting on God’s spiritual armor:

• Submit yourselves to God (James 4:7). 
• Be sober-minded; be watchful” (1 Peter 5:8; also 1 Thessalonians 5:6).
• Dwell in God’s shelter, rest in his fortress (Psalm 91:1-16)
• Use Jesus’ authority against demonic powers (Luke 10:19)
• Resist the devil’s temptation (James 4:7; Matthew 4:1-11)
• Do not make a practice of sinning (1 John 3:8)
• “Take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5)
• Be strong in Christ, rely on his strength (Ephesians 6:10)
• Don’t offer idols sacrifices, for they may be to demons (1 Corinthians 10:19-22)
• Pray (Matthew 6:9-13, 26:39)

Most of all, we can rest in the hope that Christ is victorious. We simply await the full fulfillment of his kingdom that will arrive, is already arriving, and has already been secured by his resurrection. “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him” (Colossians 2:15). 

Trusting someone, or some movement, apart from Christ and his church, to deliver us from darkness will only bring greater darkness.