CSIS Report Warns of Chinese Threat to Global Subsea Cables

WASHINGTON, August 28, 2024 – Amid escalating concerns in the U.S. about Chinese technology infiltrating telecommunications networks, subsea cables carrying nearly 98% of global internet traffic have surfaced as the latest potential targets for sabotage, with China and Russia identified as primary threats.

A new report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies has brought attention to the vulnerabilities of subsea cable systems, revealing a “deliberate” pattern of attacks by China. Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft own or lease around half of all undersea bandwidth worldwide.

Since 2018, there have been 27 recorded instances of Chinese vessels disrupting Taiwan’s undersea cables. One such incident in 2023 left 14,000 residents in digital isolation for six weeks. 

The report notes that the vast scale and exposure of undersea infrastructure made it an easy target for saboteurs operating in the gray zone of “deniable attacks short of war.”

One significant vulnerability included the global overreliance on Chinese cable repair ships. This dependence could become a particular concern if, during a military conflict, the Chinese government restricted access to its repair vessels, potentially crippling global communications.

Although the data transmitted through subsea cables has been encrypted, the overreliance on Chinese infrastructure has raised alarms in the U.S., leading to a blockade of Chinese companies from subsea projects involving U.S. investments due to national security concerns. 

Simultaneously, Chinese authorities have delayed or denied the approval of subsea cables passing through the South China Sea, hindering north-south connectivity in the Pacific region. 

The CSIS report emphasized the need for a more cohesive legal framework to protect subsea cables, recommending that the U.S. and its allies prioritize both security and efficiency in repairs and installations. 

Key recommendations included avoiding reliance on untrusted entities for cable restoration, implementing electronic monitoring systems for enhanced security, and collaborating with international partners to strengthen global infrastructure resilience. 

While the U.S. and its allies consider these critical steps, China has already been aggressively pursuing its own strategy to dominate the global subsea cable market, the CSIS report said. 

In 2015, China set an ambitious goal to capture 60 percent of the global fiber-optic cable market through its Digital Silk Road initiative. By targeting emerging economies in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and the Pacific, Chinese firms like HMN Technologies have rapidly increased their share of the global subsea cable market.

HMN Technologies, formerly Huawei Marine Networks, held 11 percent of the global market in 2021, while U.S. company SubCom, French firm Alcatel Submarine Networks, and Japanese firm Nippon Electric Company collectively held 87 percent.

However, HMN Technologies has become the fastest-growing subsea cable builder over the past decade, laying 18 percent of the world’s subsea cables in the last four years.