France, which is a NATO member, and China have sent their aircraft carriers to the hotly contested South China Sea earlier this week, where territorial disputes remain unsolved. The Chinese Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a written request for comment.

Common damage to underwater infrastructure has been weaponised by Nato states and Taiwan in information warfare against mainland China.

In Germany, Vice President JD Vance spoke at the Munich Security Conference. He told NATO allies that Europe’s biggest security threat is not Russia or China, but themselves.

Worse still, China has emerged as the big winner, as the conflict has ensnared NATO and Russia. China, significantly stronger than Russia in economic output, military spending and other strategic metrics,

The French nuclear-powered aircraft carrier has been deployed for a five-month Indo-Pacific mission since last November.

France, which is a NATO member, and China have sent their aircraft carriers to the hotly contested South China Sea earlier this week, where territorial disputes remain unsolved. The Chinese Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a written request for comment.

Citing unnamed U.S. officials, Bloomberg reported that Moscow and Washington were discussing economic cooperation in the far north, which could "drive a wedge" between Russia and its key trading ally, China. It could also be part of a detente between the U.S. and Russia sought by President Donald Trump.

Taiwan's coast guard said it was investigating whether the incident was sabotage but said "it cannot be ruled out that it was a gray zone intrusion."

Moscow and Beijing, seeking to disrupt and intimidate the West, have intensified their attacks on undersea data cables, forcing the United States and its partners to protect critical connections.

President Donald Trump’s sweeping upending of US foreign policy has alarmed allies and nations in need – as his administration has frozen foreign aid, threatened to take control of other countries’ sovereign territory,

The French nuclear-powered aircraft carrier has been deployed for a five-month Indo-Pacific mission since last November.

China and Russia “cannot be moved away” from one another, Chinese leader Xi Jinping told his counterpart Vladimir Putin Monday, in their first phone call since US President Donald Trump upended American foreign policy with a sweeping pivot toward Moscow as he pushes for peace in Ukraine.