China's defence ministry said on Thursday that drills which had alarmed Taiwan off its coast were "routine" and the island should stop complaining, as Taipei reported a surge in Chinese military activity,

Before its detention, the Chinese-crewed Hong Tai 58 was already on a monitoring list of 52 China-linked vessels that Taiwan security agencies suspect pose a threat to cables beca

Taiwan says China violated norms and caused a "high degree of danger" by announcing "live-fire exercises without prior warning" just off its coast.

The Coast Guard said it was investigating how the cable was severed and said it could not rule out the possibility of sabotage.

This is the latest in a series of incidents in recent years in which undersea Taiwanese cables have been damaged — with Taipei in some instances blaming China. Earlier this year, a Chinese cargo ship was suspected of severing a link northeast of the island.