Due to the demand for AI and the risks of sabotage: Europe and Asia join forces to protect submarine cables
At the Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore, defense officials from Southeast Asian and European countries called for closer cooperation to protect the global network of undersea cables, Bloomberg reports.
This issue has become particularly urgent due to the increase in cable damage incidents in European waters, particularly in the Baltic Sea. Singapore and Malaysia are currently key nodes for approximately 600 fiber optic cables that carry almost all the world's data.
Singapore's Defense Minister Chan Chun Sing stressed that the entire network needs to be protected, not individual points, and it is important to ensure the security of both ends of the cables. European representatives, in turn, shared their experience in protecting infrastructure after the increase in incidents involving tankers traveling to and from Russia, as well as Chinese vessels.
The global network of submarine cables stretches over 1.4 million kilometers, and its protection is becoming increasingly important, especially as demand for data center capacity grows for the development of artificial intelligence. Investment in submarine cables is expected to reach $15.4 billion between 2024 and 2028.
Despite suspicions of sabotage by Russia or China, there is largely no clear evidence of deliberate attacks. Many incidents are due to accidents or negligence. At the same time, NATO has increased patrols in key areas to prevent possible threats.
The EU's top diplomat, Kaia Kallas, has called on Europe and Asia to join forces in combating "shadow flotillas" of tankers and to review maritime safety laws.
The defense ministers of the Philippines and Thailand also stressed the importance of protecting underwater infrastructure, noting that it is vulnerable not only to sabotage, but also to accidents and natural disasters.
By the way, Mezha has an interesting article about the history of laying underwater communication cables.