The Chinese director of a firm whose vessel Taiwan suspects of having damaged an undersea communications cable said on Wednesday there was no evidence the ship was involved, an incident that has alarmed the government in Taipei.

The incident raises concern China will try to cut all undersea cables to Taiwan in the event of a military invasion, so Taiwan is racing to develop a satellite-based internet service.

Taiwan suspects China of being behind damage to a crucial subsea communications cable just off its northern coast, which occurred last week.

Taiwanese authorities are investigating the severing of an undersea telecommunications cable near the island's northern coast, suspecting the involvement of a Cameroon-registered cargo ship with the Chinese name Shunxin-39.

The incident caused only minimal disruption of service but sent a message about the vulnerability of the island and its internet.