GoKawiil
Tech News
A Chinese research vessel loitering near an undersea cable off the Philippines ignored radio contact, broadcast a false ID, and maneuvered to avoid being intercepted in September, according to Nikkei Asia. The Philippines dispatched its largest coast guard ship in response, and a Chinese coastguard vessel also intervened, with Beijing later complaining of harassment, per the South China Morning Post.
About 50 U.S. Marines from Camp Lejeune are joining NATO's Enhanced Vigilance Activity Baltic Sentry operation, providing surveillance and reconnaissance support to protect undersea internet cables and gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea. The unit, drawn from the 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion and related Marine groups, will supply drones and sensor data to NATO allies including Finland, while European nations lead the operation.
Taiwan's Ocean Affairs Council, working with National Cheng Kung University, has completed simulations of two autonomous drone fleets of 10 units each flying in coordination without human control. The system is intended to help the Coast Guard Administration monitor undersea cables and track Chinese vessels engaged in grey-zone activity, with plans to move next to hardware testing and real sea trials.
A Center for Strategic and International Studies analysis of 200 research vessels from 47 countries found Chinese ships spent a disproportionately large share of time loitering near undersea cable infrastructure in the Pacific. The report highlights a vessel from the Xiang Yang Hong fleet that spent months near three cables linking the U.S. to Australia, Indonesia, Singapore and Guam, moving in seafloor-mapping patterns.
The UK government has published a policy paper proposing new criminal offences and penalties for damaging or interfering with undersea cables and pipelines, including physical attacks, cyberattacks, and obstruction of repairs. Proposed penalties range from two years for gross negligence to 14 years for intentional sabotage, alongside potentially unlimited fines and new ministerial powers. The move follows reports of roughly 500 incidents involving Russian fishing trawlers loitering near UK undersea cables over the past four and a half years.
The Telegraph reports that analysis of Global Fishing Watch satellite data found over 500 incidents in four and a half years where Russian fishing trawlers lingered above critical undersea communications cables linking the US and Europe. Examples include vessels tracing the routes of the Atlantic Crossing 1, TAT-14, Hibernia Express, Shefa-2, Amitie and Grace Hopper cables, often slowing to two or three knots near the infrastructure.
Two Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps generals publicly described undersea fiber-optic cables running through the Strait of Hormuz as potential targets in future conflict. General Hossein Mohebbi said seven major cables carrying global internet and commercial data pass beneath the strait, while General Yadollah Javani indicated Iran could strike the cables if its infrastructure is attacked.
A Taiwanese court convicted the captain of the Chinese-owned vessel Hong Tai of deliberately severing an undersea telecommunications cable in February 2025, sentencing him to three years in prison in June 2025. Taiwan's legislature subsequently toughened penalties for damaging undersea cables or pipelines, raising the maximum sentence to seven years.
Since the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline explosions and other attacks on subsea infrastructure near Taiwan and the Arctic, governments and companies have sharply increased investment in technology to protect underwater cables and pipelines. Chatham House researcher Katja Bego says advances in AI, drones and autonomous vehicles are enabling new forms of seabed surveillance, reversing decades of neglect since the Cold War. Over 1.5 million kilometers of submarine communications cables now underpin the global economy, making their protection a growing strategic priority.
A Reuters report says a joint US, UK, and Norwegian naval operation this spring detected Russian submarines rehearsing the use of an undisclosed device meant to disable undersea cables without leaving traceable damage. The exercise reportedly took place near Norway's Svalbard archipelago, where two 1,400km cables running nearly 3km deep link the islands to the mainland. No cables were actually harmed, and officials describe the Russian activity as a simulation for use in a potential future conflict with NATO.
A poem titled 'Safe Distance' uses imagery of undersea fiber optic cables, packet transmission, and network latency to depict a long-distance relationship mediated by technology. The piece frames digital communication as both a bridge and a barrier, with signals, nodes, and handshakes standing in for human touch and vulnerability.