A single undersea cable cut could cause widespread disruption, warns former Navy chief

Pune: A single cut in an undersea communication cable could cause severe and widespread disruption to India’s digital and communications infrastructure, former Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Karambir Singh (Retd) warned on Monday, stressing the urgent need to strengthen underwater surveillance and develop capabilities to protect the seabed.“Undersea cables are already 80-90% utilized, with demand continuously rising. Given this high utilization, even a single severed cable can cause severe, widespread disruption,” Singh said. He was speaking at a programme, Advancing Underwater Domain Awareness Framework for India’s Mahasagar Vision and its Realization, organised by the Maritime Research Centre (MRC), Pune, and the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA), New Delhi.Singh said the protection of undersea cables must become a strategic priority as submarine networks carry a substantial share of the world’s internet traffic and data. He noted that the United Nations General Assembly has recognised undersea cables as critical information infrastructure requiring protection. He called for India to proactively develop seabed warfare capabilities, drawing lessons from the French and Royal Navy, and to strengthen international cooperation for protecting underwater infrastructure.“Managing the unique challenges of the Indian Ocean Region requires transforming our naval approach towards comprehensive underwater domain awareness,” Singh said. He said the concentration of cable routes and other maritime infrastructure around vulnerable choke points, coupled with extensive shallow waters in the Indian Ocean Region, creates complex challenges for underwater surveillance, sonar operations and mine warfare.The vulnerability of subsea cables assumes greater significance as India’s digital economy and dependence on maritime communication networks continue to expand. Damage to a key cable could disrupt internet connectivity and affect financial, commercial and other critical services, making seabed infrastructure protection an emerging national-security priority.