June 24, 2025, 6:09 am
Australia is yet to adequately grapple with the unique challenges that critical seabed infrastructure protection poses to its defence and national security.
While the paramount importance of Australia’s sea lines of communication is widely understood, Australia’s seabed lines of communication – principally submarine telecommunication cables – are understudied and underappreciated. Submarine telecommunication cables transmit approximately 98% of data traffic globally and are the backbone of the Internet.
Dr. Samuel Bashfield will examine how suspected instances of seabed warfare in Europe, coupled with US-China tech competition, have manifested a war beneath the waves in the Indo-Pacific. Governments in Europe and the Indo-Pacific are rapidly pivoting to secure existing and new submarine cable networks, to promote ‘trusted’ regional connectivity infrastructure, and to derisk supply chains.
How should we interpret these emerging seabed dynamics? What are the options for Australia to pursue?
Content Creator – Australian Institute of International Affairs
