Asian Internet traffic blocked

Asian Internet traffic blocked

TAIPEI (DPA): A severed undersea cable linking Taiwan and the
United States has interrupted Internet traffic across the Pacific
for the second time in a month, local media reported Saturday.

More than 4 million Internet users in Taiwan and Southeast
Asia had difficulty accessing U.S. web sites beginning late
Friday. Some media speculated that a fishing boat from the
People's Republic of China damaged the cable with its nets.

People surfing the web in the U.S. also had trouble logging on
to Taiwanese sites, though Internet users on the Chinese mainland
experienced no problems.

The damage to the cable occurred in a stretch between Taiwan's
territorial waters and Chong Ming Island, which lies in the mouth
of the Yangtse River.

Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan's state-run telecom operator, was
able to arrange alternative routing for the Internet traffic
after several hours, according to local media.