Underwater and unprotected: why Asean and the EU must secure subsea lifelines

Barbora Valockova's analysis frames the security of subsea fiber-optic cables as "this century’s hidden battleground." This critical infrastructure, carrying roughly 99% of intercontinental data traffic, lies exposed on the ocean floor and faces repeated disruptions. The confluence of technical vulnerabilities, legal gaps in the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and intensifying great-power competition has transformed these cables from a commercial concern into a pressing geopolitical security issue.

For the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the European Union (EU), this shared vulnerability presents a pragmatic avenue for enhanced cooperation. The article argues this collaboration can sidestep the binary logic of US-China competition by focusing squarely on infrastructure resilience. Recent statements from EU High Representative Kaja Kallas and Singapore’s Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing underscore that protecting this network is a collective responsibility, as an attack on one segment is an attack on the entire global system. The piece urges both regions to move past declarations and take concrete action to secure these shared data arteries.