In the great power competition between the United States and the People’s Republic of China (PRC), subsea cables have emerged as critical theater, given that they are indispensable to international communications and are vulnerable to deniable intentional disruption; accidental cuts; surveillance, particularly at cable landing sites; and other risks.
mandag 8. desember 2025
China’s Underwater Power Play: The PRC’s New Subsea Cable-Cutting Ship Spooks International Security Experts
Over the March 22 weekend, it was reported that the China Ship Scientific Research Centre (CSSRC) and its affiliated State Key Laboratory of Deep-sea Manned Vehicles have developed a ship able to cut cable lines at depths of up to 4,000 meters (13,123 feet). Though subsea cable ships are outfitted with equipment to repair damaged or cut cables, the record depths to which this ship can go and the increasing tension in maritime areas with critical subsea infrastructure suggest that China has strengthened a tool in its arsenal, whether for intentionally cutting cables or supporting “marine resource development,” as alleged by Chinese scientists.
In the great power competition between the United States and the People’s Republic of China (PRC), subsea cables have emerged as critical theater, given that they are indispensable to international communications and are vulnerable to deniable intentional disruption; accidental cuts; surveillance, particularly at cable landing sites; and other risks.
In the great power competition between the United States and the People’s Republic of China (PRC), subsea cables have emerged as critical theater, given that they are indispensable to international communications and are vulnerable to deniable intentional disruption; accidental cuts; surveillance, particularly at cable landing sites; and other risks.
