TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan will send its navy if necessary to help the coast guard respond to any suspicious activity near undersea communications cables, Defense Minister Wellington Koo said on Thursday, after a ship which is connected to China is suspected of harming one.

Taiwan, which China considers its own territory, said a ship owned by a Hong Kong company but registered in Cameroon and Tanzania damaged a cable north of the island earlier this month, although said it was unable to verify the ship’s intentions and was unable to board it due to bad weather.

The ship’s owner denies involvement, and the Chinese government says Taiwan is making accusations before the facts are clear.

The incident particularly alarmed Taiwan because it has repeatedly complained about China’s “grey zone” activities around the island, designed to pressure it without direct confrontation, such as balloon overflights and sand dredging.

Speaking to reporters in parliament, Koo said the armed forces will closely coordinate with the coast guard and help monitor the areas where the sea cable is located.

“If something happens, the coast guard will go out first, and if necessary the navy will cooperate immediately if a response is needed,” he added.

Also speaking to the media in parliament, Taiwan National Security Bureau Director-General Tsai Ming-yen said the government has activated a mechanism with “international friends” to exchange information on the activities of China’s maritime “grey zone,” though without giving details.

Taiwan’s focus is on ships that carry flags of convenience — those registered to countries other than their actual owners — and how China uses them in the waters around the island, Tsai said. .

Taiwan, whose government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, pointed to similarities between what it experienced and the damage to submarine cables in the Baltic Sea following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Last week, Taiwan’s government said Chinese ships flying flags of convenience had “the mark of evil about them”.