Taiwan and China traded barbs over what the government in Taipei suspects was a Chinese-linked ship's damage to an undersea communications cable off the island's coast, an incident that has raised alarm bells on the island.

The damage to an undersea internet cable has heightened Taiwan's concerns about possible "grey area" operations by China. The Taiwanese Coast Guard suspects that a Chinese vessel may have been involved in the incident.

HONG KONG/TAIPEI (Reuters) - 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.