Taiwan detained a Chinese-crewed cargo ship on Tuesday after a subsea telecoms cable was severed off the island, the coast guard said.

It is the latest in a series of Taiwanese undersea cable breakages, with previous incidents blamed on natural causes or Chinese ships.

Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom reported the cable between Penghu, a strategic island group in the sensitive Taiwan Strait, and Taiwan was disconnected early Tuesday, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said.