The Chinese director of a firm whose vessel Taiwan suspects of having damaged an undersea communications cable said on Wednesday there was no evidence the ship was involved, an incident that has alarmed the government in Taipei.

Taiwanese authorities are investigating a Hong Kong-owned cargo ship suspected of damaging a subsea telecoms cable northeast of the island, Taiwan's coast guard said Monday. The Cameroon-flagged vessel was intercepted by the coast guard on Friday after Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom reported damage to a subsea cable.

Taiwan's coast guard has said that it suspects a ship damaged an undersea communications cable over the weekend, but that bad weather prevented its personnel from boarding the vessel to investigate.

By bno - Taipei Bureau Taiwan’s investigation into damage to an undersea communications cable has sparked heightened tensions, with a Chinese-registered vessel emerging as a key figure in the case. The incident,

Taiwan probes Chinese cargo ship for potentially damaging undersea cables, raising concerns over maritime safety.

Taiwan and China traded barbs over what the government in Taipei suspects was a Chinese-linked ship's damage to an undersea communications cable off the island's coast, an incident that has raised alarm bells on the island.