activated

how to use it to see which ones are activated in real time in Spain

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Let’s tell you how to use the V-16 beacon map with which you can see in real time all the ones that are activated in Spain. As of January 1, 2026, V-16 beacons They are mandatory in Spain, so that if we have an accident or breakdown we can activate them and so that the DGT signs on the roads notify the rest of the cars of our position. But you can also check the data sent by the beacons in real time with a map. It is not about DGT mapbut from a third party that uses public data from official sourcesalthough it does not seek to replace official traffic information warnings or assistants. It is also not a map linked to any specific brand of beacons, and shows all those that have been activated at any given time. It is, therefore, an information tool created by an individual. See activated beacons in real time To access the V-16 beacon map you have to enter the website Mapabalizasv16.es/#mapa. This will take you to a map of all of Spain, including the archipelagos, and you can navigate through it and zoom in to see specific areas of the country. On this map, you will be able to see currently active beacons and those that were recently activatedso that you can have a context of current problems and others that have been recent. Also, at the top you will have a button to update it at any time. When you click on one of the active beacon icons (the ones that are on) or the recent ones (their icon is off), it will open a window with event information. You will be able to see what time it was activated, the road, the direction and the province and municipality. Additionally, in the window that opens you will also have buttons to open the exact location in a map application, and you will have a share button to send the incident to someone. In Xataka Basics | V16 beacon without eSIM or connectivity: what the DGT says about them from 2026

China activated a renewable “Marshall Plan” in 2011. It is achieving more than just decarbonizing the planet

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Between 1948 and 1952, United States destination 13.3 billion dollars at the time to rebuild Western Europe after the Second World War. This strategy was called the ‘Marshall Plan’. China has its own Marshall Plan, one focused on accelerating the development of ‘green’ technologies on a global scale. And it is redrawing the energy map of developing countries. The Green Marshall Plan. It is estimated that, since 2011, China has invested a whopping $227 billion in more than 450 new energy manufacturing projects. Of that amount, around 88% are concentrated from 2022, which shows an impressive acceleration in its roadmap. BRI. One of the centerpieces of the Xi Jinping government’s foreign policy is the Belt and Road Initiative, or “Belt and Road Initiative“The idea was to create a new concept of international relations based on free trade that took the ancient Silk Road as a model (something that China has taken up). Much of this investment in green energy is going to the countries that are part of the BRI, and only in 2024 will China invested 11.8 billion dollars in green energy. In the first six months of 2025, investment was 9.7 billion, which shows another acceleration in the expansion of its green policy beyond its borders. Overproduction as a lever of change. And, if the question is “why,” the answer is “because they can.” Although China continues to extract coal yqwants to become an oil powerhas also strongly supported the renewable energy sector. So much so that they have achieved an overwhelming manufacturing advantage compared to the West. HE esteem that China produces 80% of the world’s solar panels, 75% of lithium batteries and 70% of wind turbines. They have such strong internal competition that their companies have had to create a kind of OPEC to avoid stepping on each other. And, of course, this enormous production has collapsed the market: solar panels have rock-bottom priceshave crushed Western competition and these low prices allow developing countries or countries that want to change their energy model to do so at a lower cost than a few years ago. Proper names. In 2024, China exported technologies related to renewables (panels, turbines, batteries and electric vehicles) worth 177 billion dollars, which is equivalent to 5% of its total exports. Being the factory of the worldit’s outrageous. But of that figure, 72 billion were allocated to developing countries. And not only because those countries are buying from China, but because China is investing, directly, in them. An example is Ethiopia. In 2024, they banned the importation of new gasoline cars with the aim of betting on new energy ones. But at the same time, between 2011 and 2018, China invested 4 billion in the Ethiopian energy sector, with multiple wind farms or the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. This year, another 500 million dollars have ended up in solar manufacturing plants: Chinese companies are establishing themselves in those countries. Another example is Moroccowith battery factories from chinese manufacturers to feed electric cars. In general, China is moving through Africa supporting this energy transition of countries traditionally very dependent on fossil fuels, but they are not leaving empty-handed: they are also building infrastructures that allow them to exploit mines of critical materials, a fundamental leg of the Chinese technological business and geopolitics. China’s ‘Great Solar Wall’ in 2017 And in December 2024 Brazil, like China. HE esteem that 90% of the solar panels installed in Africa are Chinese, and they are also expanding throughout Latin America. On the one hand, with influence: they build infrastructure and are becoming a key player in the railway rebirth of South America. On the other hand, they are installing factories in several countries. And there Brazil has moved very intelligently. The country increased tariffs on all automobile imports to force something that China itself did years ago when Western manufacturers wanted to enter the country: to open factories in its territory. BYD or Great Wall Motors are setting up plants in Brazil. Strange bedfellows. And then there is India. Diplomatic relations between both countries are not at their best and, in fact, India is taking advantage of any excuse to remind China that they also have military muscle. However, on the other side of those tensions, we find a country that is experiencing explosive growth in renewable capacitygoing from 190 GW installed to almost 500 GW projected by 2030. And what is making that change possible is the cmassive purchase of renewable technologies to China. India buys 17% of the solar cells that China exports, which creates a brutal technological dependency, as well as a dilemma: they need green energy with immediate availability, but they also want to develop their own industrial capabilities. And this overproduction in China, with such low prices, makes the goal of national manufacturing less attractive. Taking the role of the US. And, precisely, it was during the COP30 held a few days ago in Brazil, where China’s role was highlighted. In a report by The New York Times point out how, in the Paris Agreement, rich countries relied on poorer ones to begin taking measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In some cases, it remained a simple promise while developing countries claimed their right to industrialization, something for which they have been using fossil fuels. China has seen the gap and thanks to cheap renewables, these developing countries can continue their industrialization in a more environmentally friendly way. And we go back to what we did before: China presenting itself as a pillar of global stability in an event in which the United States has not made an appearance. And while Europe and the US analyze what to do, China continues to expand its influence. Images | POT, Korea Aerospace Research Institute In Xataka | China is the largest power in renewables. Now you have a problem: what to do with all those used turbines and plates

Aragón has just activated its second major data center project. The bet goes through a challenge that is difficult to ignore

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Aragón is going through a unique moment: in just a few years it has gone from competing to attract data centers to announce three mega facilities new ones promoted by Forestalia that aim to strengthen their position on the European cloud map. The announcement by the regional government comes in the midst of a race to attract technological investment, but also in a territory where the electrical network works to the limit and every great project depends on decisions that have not yet been made. The result is a scenario as ambitious as it is full of unknowns, which will determine the real impact of this expansion. How these digital complexes work. A data center is, in essence, a technological heart that stores and processes information for millions of users and companies. Every series that is streamed or every operation carried out in the cloud passes through servers that require stable power and constant cooling. That is why the choice of location is so relevant: electrical capacity and operational security are needed. Aragón has been gaining ground on that map and today is seen as a strategic option for new facilities. The project. The Government of Aragon has detailed that the Búfalo Project includes three data centers in Magallón, Botorrita and Alfamén, backed by an investment of 12,048 million euros. The deployment includes DCM Data, DCM Dédalo and DCM Blue, whose works would begin between 2028 and 2029 and will extend for approximately eight years. According to official estimates, the construction will generate about 30,000 temporary jobs. In the operational phase, each facility will add hundreds of workers, with a total that clearly exceeds a thousand stable positions. Aragón on the international board. The accumulated investments in data centers exceed 70,000 million euros and place the community in the same conversation as consolidated European hubs. According to the President of the Government of Aragon, Jorge Azcón, the computing capacity that is being configured rivals that of Dublin and Paris and aspires to approach that of Frankfurt. The regional Executive also states that the data that will be managed will have a European scope, from Germany or France to Italy and the United Kingdom, reinforcing the international dimension of the project. Distributed renewable self-consumption. The Government of Aragon presents self-consumption as a distinctive element of the Búfalo Project, since approximately half of the energy consumption will be associated with wind and photovoltaic parks powered by Forestalia. This volume of generation allows for a renewable supply, although it does not eliminate dependence on the general network, which will provide the rest of the energy. The underlying idea is to combine own generation with existing infrastructure to sustain large-scale facilities. Press to see the message in X The word “self-consumption” may lead one to think that data centers and renewable plants share the same physical space, but this is not the case. Forestalia is setting up parks in various regions of Zaragoza and Teruel, located where the natural resource is most favorable. The data centers, as we say, will be in Magallón, Botorrita and Alfamén, and the connection between both worlds is made entirely through the Red Eléctrica network. It is a distributed scheme that coordinates generation and consumption without a single energy campus. A network to the limit. Aragon produces more electricity than it consumes and exports about 54% of its generation, but that abundance contrasts with a distribution network that functions practically at maximum. A report published in September 2025 sets its occupancy level at 94.3%, well above the national average of 84.3%. This saturation leaves little room to incorporate large consumers such as data centers. The result is a paradox: available energy, but an infrastructure incapable of delivering it to all projects. Projects that have already reached their peak. The bottleneck is not a future hypothesis, but a reality that already affects several operators. According to Heraldothe data centers in the pipeline have requested more than 6,000 MW and only a part has firm access, with cases such as Vantage, which has 90 MW authorized despite aiming for 300. Microsoft also depends on tenders in saturated nodes. The Government itself recognizes that everything will be linked to Red Eléctrica’s planning and the decisions of the central Executive. Water, a debate that is still open? The cooling of data centers has generated concern in Aragon since Amazon asked for late 2024 48% more water for the complexes that already operate in the region. Ecologistas en Acción and the Tu Nube Seca Mi Río platform then warned of the water impact of these facilities in the midst of a structural drought. Azcón maintains that future Forestalia centers will use a closed circuit with “practically imperceptible” consumption and affirms that the debate “is over.” In any case, everything indicates that this matter remains under public scrutiny. To facilitate the path of the Buffalo Project, The Government of Aragon has declared the initiative as of Autonomous General Interest, a figure that allows procedures to be simplified and the different administrations involved better coordinated. This declaration speeds up procedures, but does not resolve the main point of friction: the available electrical capacity. Hence, the regional Executive insists on its willingness to work with the central Government and Red Eléctrica, the only actors that can modify the network planning. Real progress will depend on those decisions. The announcement of the three new data centers, together with the rest of the initiatives in the pipeline, places Aragón at a decisive moment to consolidate its presence on the European cloud map. The investment is notable and so is the promised employment, but much of the result will depend on decisions that are not entirely in the hands of the community. The region has shown intention and movement, although it remains to be seen what the real scope of this bet will be. Images | İsmail Enes Ayhan | Jorge Azcón (X) In Xataka | The European Commission’s pendulum with AI is real: it will sacrifice privacy to … Read more

His name is Dead Hand and is activated in case of Russian annihilation

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The verbal escalation between Washington and Moscow He intensified After the statements of Dmitri Medvedev, former Russian president and current vice president of the Security Council, by reacting hard to the ultimatum launched by the United States: stop the offensive in Ukraine within ten days or face new sanctions. Medvedev described The threat as “a step towards war”, and then remembered a cold war system. The diplomatic trigger. Yes, because the leader He replied with allusions to the known Russian nuclear system Like Dead Handdesigned to guarantee reprisals even if Kremlin’s leadership was eliminated. Far from softening the tone, Trump replied that the Russian had to “monitor his words”, warning that he entered “a very dangerous territory.” It was in this context that the US president ordered the repositioning of two nuclear submarines In “appropriate regions”, an unusually public gesture that sought to convey firmness against what he described as “incendiary” comments. The nuclear background. The announcement recounted an important symbolic burden, since the movements of American ballistic submarines are rarely made public. Analysts Like James Actonfrom Carnegie Endowment, they recalled that the United States nuclear deterrence already maintains constant capacity in the Atlantic and the Pacific, which suggests that the deployment has more A political character than a real change in military position. The MEDYDEV mention To Dead Hand underlines the growing centrality of Russian nuclear discourse since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine. Far from his image as a reformist leader between 2008 and 2012, Medvedev has embraced a incendiary tone In social networks, repeatedly referring to atomic Arsenal as a letter of intimidation, which raises tension at a time of military and diplomatic stagnation. The origin of an apocalyptic weapon. The idea of a Final Judgment Devicean automatic mechanism that guarantees nuclear retaliation even when a country has been devastated and its eliminated leaders seemed for decades a science fiction fantasy. However, the Soviet Union materialized in 1985 under the name of Perimetr systembetter known in the West as Dead Hand. The principle was simple in its logic and terrifying in its consequence: even if the enemy launched a perfect first attack, annihilating Moscow’s political and military command, a Autonomous system He would ensure the nuclear response, also condemning the aggressor. In other words, it was the incarnation of the insured mutual destructionbrought to an automatic level in which no human decision could stop the sequence once activated. The strategic motivation of Moscow. The development of the system responded to the growing Soviet vulnerability in the 1980s. The improvement in the accuracy of the American missiles launched from submarines reduced the half -hour warning time just three minuteswhich made it impossible to organize a counterattack before destruction. In that scenario, the classical deterrence of the cold war was threatened, because Washington could consider feasible a first disabling blow. To restore balance, Kremlin designed the Perimetrthat when activated in times of tension would remain latent, evaluating with seismic, radiological and atmospheric pressure sensors if the territory had been attacked. Only then, and after verifying the loss of contact with the General Staff, the system granted launch authority to the crew buried in A armored bunkereliminating the need for intact command chains. The mechanism. The system’s core was a unique missile: 15P011not armed with a nuclear head, but with a radio transmitter hardened against radiation. When taking off from a protected silo, this projectile flew over the country issuing launch orders to the ICBM silos, to the strategic submarines and the bombers, replacing the communications infrastructure that was presumed destroyed. This guaranteed mass retaliation against Preprogrammed objectives. The decision chain was reduced to a Sequence of conditional: If an attack was detected, if there was no communication with the high command, and if after a prudential time the signals were not restored, then the revenge was assured. A single operator, locked in Your underground positioncould trigger the complete arsenal of the Soviet Union. Between the secret and the paradox. Paradoxically, the real utility of Perimetr did not reside so much to intimidate the United States with its existence, because for years it remained in the strictest secret, revealed to the world in 1993. Rather it worked like a Psychological insurance For Soviet leaders themselves. Knowing that the system would automatically respond to them not to rush before ambiguous signals and gain time to analyze whether an alleged attack was not, in reality, a radar error or a flock of geese confused with missiles. Instead of accelerating nuclear button, Dead Hand reduced risk of a catastrophic error by excessive reaction, providing a strange respite in a climate marked by permanent fear of Armageddon. Validity. Although the exact details remain classified, It is believed than perimetr Follow operational in current Russia, modernized after the dissolution of the USSR. Its only existence remembers the thin line between strategic stability and global destruction: a device that, in theory, converts nuclear war into a absolute nonsensebut at the same time contains the power to erase civilization without human intervention. The unusual thing is that, far from being the irrational monster by Dr. StrangeloveDead Hand may have been the more rational invention In the logic of terror balance: a mechanism created to calm those who could destroy the world with an impulsive order. In that disturbing paradox, its legacy is supported: the only real device of assured destruction that, by guaranteeing retaliation, reduced temptation of error and, somehow, the nuclear vertigo of the cold war made more habitable. Today, the episode Between Trump and Medvedev It emphasizes once again the fragility of the nuclear balance between both powers: on the one hand, the tacit dissuasion of the United States, whose underwater force Always remain ready No need for ads. On the other, Kremlin’s constant resource to atomic rhetoric as an instrument of psychological pressure. Image | Włodi In Xataka | The good news for Russia is that the earthquake occurred in a remote area. The bad is that he concentrated his nuclear submarines … Read more

Xi Jinping has reappeared after 16 days of silence. What we did not imagine was what was activated during his absence

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Xi Jinping has reappeared after 16 days without public presence. He has done it on June 4 in An official meeting with Belaruso President Alexander Lukashenko In Beijing. His return ends an unusually long absence that, for the moment it has occurred and for the international context, unleashed a wave of speculation about his health, his power within the communist party and the course of the second world economy. Why is it important. The disappearance of XI coincided with a rebound in tensions with the United States, marked by threats of new sanctions and a progressive deterioration of bilateral relations. In that context, the lack of visibility of the maximum Chinese leader has generated uncomfortable questions: was he sick? Were there internal movements against him? Who was making decisions in his place? The facts. Three signals fed the noise, as reported Nikkei Asia: The Politburo did not celebrate its monthly May meeting, or at least it did not communicate it, something stipulated by the Statutes of the party. Although there is no obligation to make it public, its silence was striking. The Defense Minister was absent from the Shangri-La dialogue in Singapore, the most important security conference in Asia. The name of Miao Hua, head of the political department of the Popular Liberation Army, has disappeared from the official website. In parallel, it was confirmed The death of former vice president of the Central Military Commission, Xu Qiliangofficially due to illness. But his death occurred in a context of constant purges in the army and rumors – not verified – of suicides between high controls under investigation for corruption or disloyalty. The opacity of the system, far from containing the conjectures, amplifies them. Between bambalins. As collected NTD —Inly linked to the Falun Gong movement, openly critical of the regime, “three possible scenarios were shuffled: XI could be sick after years of power concentration. He would be orchestrating unprecedented internal reforms. It would face a rebellion of the marginalized factions since 2012. The most drastic hypothesis: that high positions of the party would have agreed to resign, possibly in August. An important nuance: NTD It is not a neutral source. It is convenient to take into account his critical bias with the Communist Party and his militant editorial line. The hypotheses that it raises are not contrasted by independent sources. The context. China lives a especially sensitive moment. The economy slows down, tensions with Taiwan intensify and Trump insists with its tariff war. As I pointed out The Diplomatthe absence of XI just now projects weakness in the worst possible time. It would not be the first time that a Chinese leader responds to questioning with a symbolic gesture: in 1966, when he doubted the health of Mao Zedong, The leader swam publicly through Yangtsé To demonstrate strength. And now what. XI has reappeared, but the episode leaves an uncomfortable conclusion: even a two -week blackout is enough to activate the radar. When power depends on both its image and its actions, any emptiness is perceived as a crack. The next big appointment will be the Fourth Fourth of the Central Committeeplanned for August, and with him the traditional summer retreat in Beidaihe, where a good part of the party’s strategy is drawn. There will be special interest in seeing him again. In Xataka | China promised them very happy monopolizing rare earths. The problem is that he did not think of the smugglers Outstanding image | Chinese Communist Party

The government has a red button against Airbnb and has activated it in 65,000 floors

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At the doors of summer, with the influx of international travelers in record levels and housing and Tourist massification converted into almost daily debate issues (yesterday motivated A protest In the Canary Islands), the government wanted to launch a resounding notice to the holiday rental platforms. The Ministry of Social Rights and Consumption has just claimed Airbnb to block Around 66,000 ads “illegal” tourist apartments spread throughout Spain. The message is clear: the State has the tools to regulate the offer in the holiday rental market. And has decided to use them. What happened? That the Ministry of Consumer He just remind you to Airbnb that must block almost 66,000 ads of tourist floors offered on its website. To be more prices 65,935 publications that, in the opinion of the technicians of the department of Pablo Bustinduy, can be considered “illegal.” It is not the first time that the Government is aimed at the rental platform to claim that you eliminate those publications, but now it does so with a draft argument in its favor: a favorable sentence of the Superior Court of Justice. Why’s that? As Remember from consumptionover the last months its technicians have sent three resolutions to Airbnb in which they order the platform that eliminates 66,000 ads of floors. Those responsible however share the consumption criteria and have resorted to the order before justice. Now the Superior Court of Justice of Madrid has ruled. And he does so giving him consumption in a resolution that affects a first batch of 5,800 ads of houses distributed by Andalusia, Madrid, Catalonia, Valencian Community, Basque Country and the Balearic Islands. Enough for the government to have launched a statement emphasizing the need for Airbnb to block all the ads that it considers “illegal”, the 65,935, something that has already demanded from the offices of Ireland. Why do you want to block them? Because in the opinion of the Government these publications do not respect the rules that holiday accommodations must comply with if they want to announce. “Specifically, the regulations of the different autonomous communities are violated where consumption has detected these ads. In all cases it is complete housing for tourist use, advertisements of individual rooms appear,” specify From the ministry. To be more precise, consumption considers that they fail three key guidelines. The main one is not to include the license or registration number, an obligation collected in several autonomous regulations and that supposes “the most common infraction” detected by the Ministry. The second is that the ads do not require whether the house is renting a company or particular. Finally, officials have also detected that (at least in some ads) a license is included that does not correspond to that issued by the authorities, the third infraction. What does Airbnb say? Which is willing to battle. In statements collected by The reasonthe platform says that “it will continue to resort all the decisions that affect this case” and accuses consumption of having used an “indiscriminate methodology”, including both “ads that show licenses” and “others that might not need it, as seasonal leases.” “He has also deliberately ignored resolutions of the supreme that make it clear that not all Airbnb ads require registration number.” Is it the first touch of attention? No. The Government (as well as other administrations regional) It has been aware of tourist floors, among other reasons for Tensions which generates in the residential market. One of its most ambitious initiatives is A unique registry of holiday rentals that seek to centralize the management, that all the registered floors have a license and that platforms such as Booking or the Airbnb Velan itself because the homes announced comply with the guidelines set by the Law for Rent. The notice launched by consumption is important for another reason, beyond the possibility of withdrawing almost 66,000 homes from the tourist rental market. It is a new touch of attention that is added to the sanctioning file open to late 2024 to a tourist floors rental platform for breaching advertising or activated regulations Last February. Why is it important? For the debate generated over last years around tourist rental and its impact on the price of housing and for the legal situation in which there are many apartments that are leaving for travelers. Just two months ago The country It echoed of a calculation of consumption that reveals that only 7% of the tourist housing ads offered in Madrid have a license. The Executive crossed the advertising of 16,335 tourist apartments in the city with the information of 1,131 permits in force granted by the City Council. Its conclusion: there are 15,204 homes outside the law. Image | Erwan Hesry (UNSPLASH) In Xataka | “My savings were there”: Spanish cities are already beginning to regulate their tourist floors

The impact probability of asteroid 2024 YR4 has risen to 1.6%. The UN has already activated a special protocol

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In just a few days of observations, the probability that The 2024 YR4 asteroid Impact with the Earth has risen from 1.2 to 1.6%. Once otherwise, there is a 98.4% chance that the newly discovered object passes by long. But the risk of not doing so is high enough for the UN to activate, for the first time, its planetary security protocol. Revised calculations. 2024 YR4 was discovered on December 27 by the latest land impact alert system (Atlas) from Chile, but did not caught the attention of astronomers until it automatically appeared on the NASA Sentry list on December 31 by its impact risk (then just above 1%) with the planet Earth. According to the Updated data which published yesterday the Coordination Center of Objects close to Earth (NEOCC) of the European Space Agency (ESA), the 2024 YR4 asteroid measures between 40 and 90 meters in diameter and has a 1.6% chance of impacting with the Earth on December 22, 2032. He would do it near Ecuador, at some point that goes from northern South America to northern India, passing through central Africa. Meetings in NASA and ESA. We can agree that the probability of impact is still very small, but has put in suspense the Space Missions Planning Advisory Group (SMPAG) of the UN, the committee that coordinates the response to asteroids of more than 50 meters with an impact probability of more than 1% in the next 50 years. With the planetary security protocol officially activated2024 YR4 has triggered, for the moment, two SMPAG meetings. One with the NASA Planetary Defense Coordination Officeand another in Vienna with the experts of the ESE Planetary Defense Office. What the experts have decided. Actively observe the asteroid and meet again at the end of April or early May (or before, if the risk of impact increases significantly) to reassess the situation. The probabilities can change in favor or against time as astronomers make more observations and refine the calculations of the asteroid trajectory. If the asteroid remains greater than 50 meters and the probability of impact is maintained above 1% for the next meeting, the SMPAG will issue a recommendation on future actions to the United Nations External Space Affairs Office (oneo). We will definitely need offices with acronym that is easier to remember if Armageddon comes true. We have some practice. Let’s not forget that humanity has already successfully diverted an asteroid. NASA did as proof of concept in September 2022 with the Dart mission, a ship that Dimorphos’ trajectory slightly divertedthe small moon of the asteroid Didymos. The European Mission Hera He now goes there to study the impact result. Everything we can learn from this test (And the one that China will do in a few months) It could make a difference in future planetary defense missions, the case may be. Images | Astrophyscia Institute of the Canary Islands, NASA/JPL In Xataka | Dart has been a success. The question is whether it will really save us when an asteroid goes to Earth

Taiwan does not want more problems with China or with its submarine cables. So you have activated an unpublished security plan

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Earlier this year and after what happened with an underwater cable that affected the only remaining link with the Matsu Islandsincident that occurred just a week after Another cable that connected the island was damagedTaiwan made an unprecedented decision. A call Washington ended with A two -year agreement so that the United States Army would disembark on the island and train the Taiwanese Navy. Actually, this is just part of the plan. Protect cables as priority. Submarine cable infrastructure is the pillar of the global connectivity of most nations, But a little more for an island like Taiwana territory that depends almost in its entirety of these systems to guarantee the communication of its citizens, companies and government institutions. To get an idea, any severe interruption in these links could not only leave the population incommunicado, affecting access to essential services such as mobile applications and digital platforms, but it would also have A critical impact on economic and government operations. The problem is that the fragility of these systems has been evidenced with the growing incident frequency In the cables that connect the enclave with its peripheral islands and with the world, which has raised concerns about the safety and resilience of this key infrastructure. Alarming frequency of failures. Globally, The more than 450 existing underwater cable systems They experience damage in a range of 0.1 to 0.2 incidents (by cable) per year, which is equivalent to 50 and 100 annual failures worldwide. However, the situation in Taiwan is exceptionally critical. The cables that connect Matsu’s peripheral islands with the main island They suffer an average of 5.1 annual interruptions, which represents a frequency up to 50 times higher than the global average. This data underlines the level of vulnerability of communications and the urgent need to implement protection measures. As we count, on January 22, The two submarine cables that connect Matsu with Taiwan were disconnectedwhich left the island is isolated digitally. According to the Taiwan Digital Affairs Ministry (Fashion), the cause was a “natural deterioration.” And it was not an isolated case: just a few weeks before, on January 3, a communications cable north of the main island, operated by Chunghwa Telecom, It was also cut, allegedly by a ship manned by Chinese citizens. The boat in question, Shunxing 39, was registered in Cameroon and Tanzania, which complicates the direct attribution of the attack. Strategies to strengthen security. The result of the situation has been to activate An unprecedented plan, measures to reinforce the safety of their submarine cables. For example, telecommunications operators have deployed maritime patrols with the aim of warning of fishing vessels approaching sensitive areas. Likewise, the Taiwan Coast Guard has intensified surveillance through monitoring systems to trace boats in critical areas. There are more. To improve redundancy in communications, fashion has implemented A subsidies program to encourage the construction of new stations International cable landing and the installation of backup systems. In addition, Taiwan has opted for the diversification of his communication systems through satellites. In this sense, the government has signed Agreements with the European company SES for the deployment of medium orbit satellites (MEO) and with Oneweb for the incorporation of low orbit satellites (Leo). All measures that seek to guarantee the continuity of government and military communications in case of an emergency. Legal challenges to protect cables. One of the main obstacles in the protection of submarine cables is the complexity of international legislation around these infrastructure. According to international maritime laws, if damage occurs within the territorial waters of a country, this may exercise jurisdiction on the incident. The problem? That, if the affectation happens in an exclusive economic zone or in international waters, The responsibility falls to the country where the suspicious boat is registered. This legal framework generates significant barriers for the investigation and persecution of those responsible for deliberate sabotages. From there The problem in the Baltic with The “Ghost Ships”. In response to these challenges, Taiwan has taken legislative measures to penalize intentional attacks against their submarine cables. The sanctions include prison sentences between one and seven years, in addition to fines that can reach 10 million Taiwanese dollars (approximately 300,000 US dollars). And the United States. It We have recently. Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense has announced A two -year agreement with the United States to train the Taiwanese Navy In a context where the island’s Parliament is prepared to vote possible cuts in the budget for military training abroad. The agreement, valued at approximately 50 million Taiwanese dollars (1.5 million US dollars), stipulates that US Navy personnel will be sent to Taiwan to carry out a specialized naval training program. The training sessions, in principle, will be held at the headquarters of the Navy and the Marines of Taiwan, located in the Zuoying district, near the city of Kaohsiung, in the south of the country. It is, therefore, The first time in history that the Taiwanese Ministry of Defense publicly recognizes the presence of US military coaches. Regional Resilience. The numerous cases in recent months They have shown it. The protection of submarine cables, and more in Taiwan, is not only a national problem, but a matter of regional security. Any interruption in these infrastructure can affect their neighboring countries, which reinforces the need to establish strategic alliances for damage prevention and repair. In this regard, Taiwan aims to work closely with its partners in Asia To strengthen cable repair capabilities, improve logistics and develop advanced monitoring technologies. In fact, a few weeks ago researchers from the University of Lisui in China They registered a patent for an anchor device designed to cut underwater cables efficiently. There is no evidence of its use in real attacks, but the simple existence of these technologies suggests that the risks to telecommunications could be intensified in the near future. Image | 總統府 In Xataka | 2025 has started with another cut cable cut. The problem is where and the suspect: in Taiwan and China In Xataka … Read more

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