FLASH
Shkruar nga Lynn Kuok
Beneath the waves of the oceans, a dangerous scenario is playing out where sabotage of digital infrastructure, rivalry between great powers, and the obsolescence of international laws threaten to turn off the lights of our modern civilization...
In 1893, the British writer Rudyard Kipling wrote a poem specifically about the wonder of undersea cables, which were connecting the world in a way previously unimaginable. He hoped that instant communication would unite nations into one.
More than a century later, telegraph lines have given way to fiber-optic cables, but their unifying promise has all but faded. Instead, the seabed has become a fierce arena of competition, sabotage, and surveillance between great powers.
These cables carry 99 percent of transoceanic digital traffic, including financial flows, government communications, and military secrets.
As trust between states weakens, global networks are being divided into geopolitical blocs led by the US, China and non-aligned countries, making data routes reflect political divisions rather than commercial logic.
Infrastructure vulnerabilities in Europe and Asia
The vulnerability of this infrastructure became alarming in Europe after the explosions at the Nord Stream gas pipeline in 2022. This act drew global attention to how easily underwater assets can be damaged with impunity. Subsequent incidents in the Baltic Sea, where Chinese and Russian-linked ships were blamed for the damage, showed how state actors can remotely threaten the security of a region.
Asia faces similar risks, with Taiwan reporting frequent cable disruptions every year as a result of Beijing’s coercive campaign. In January 2025, the activities of Russian ships off the coast of Norway and the discovery of Chinese technology that can cut cables at depths of up to 4,000 meters have heightened fears that our adversaries now possess the means to disconnect the world from digital connectivity at any time.
Breaking the deadlock
The 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) guarantees freedom to lay and repair cables, but its implementation is failing in practice. Many coastal states, such as China, are using their laws to seek consent for cable routes on their continental shelves, in violation of international principles.
This legal framework also suffers from structural flaws in terms of liability. On the high seas, only the state representing a ship has jurisdiction to investigate damages.
Por shumë anije janë të regjistruara në vende që nuk kanë as vullnet dhe as kapacitet për të vepruar.
Përcaktimi i fajtorit mbetet sfida më e madhe. Prova që një akt sabotimi është kryer nën udhëzimet e një shteti specifik është tejet e vështirë për t’u siguruar. Për më tepër, teknologjia po ecën më shpejt se ligji. Platformat pa pilot dhe dronët nënujorë krijojnë paqartësi të reja ligjore, pasi është e paqartë nëse ato duhet të konsiderohen apo jo anije.
Tani shumë kompani private po zgjedhin rrugë më të gjata dhe më të kushtueshme për të shmangur zonat e kontestuara si Deti i Kinës Jugore, vetëm për të shpëtuar nga pengesat burokratike dhe rreziqet e sigurisë që vijnë nga pretendimet territoriale të Pekinit.
Një rrjet mbrojtës
Përgjigjet ndaj këtyre kërcënimeve janë aktualisht të fragmentuara. Shtetet e Bashkuara kanë filluar të zbatojnë rregulla më të rrepta për stacionet e uljes dhe po punojnë me partnerët e QUAD-it për të forcuar qëndrueshmërinë e rrjeteve.
Bashkimi Evropian ka miratuar një plan veprimi që përfshin monitorimin e kabllove përmes sensorëve SMART, ndonëse përdorimi i saj mbetet i kufizuar për shkak të shqetësimeve për sovranitetin dhe përgjimin. Ndërkohë NATO ka krijuar një zyrë koordinimi për infrastrukturën nënujore dhe ka rritur patrullimet në Detet e Veriut dhe Baltik.
Në Azi, bashkëpunimi po zhvillohet më ngadalë. Vendet e ASEAN-it i kanë parë tradicionalisht kabllot vetëm si asete ekonomike, por ky qëndrim po ndryshon. Në tetor 2025, Ministrat e Mbrojtjes të rajonit miratuan parimet e para për mbrojtjen e përbashkët të infrastrukturës nënujore.
While these efforts are important, the world still lacks an integrated global system for real-time intelligence sharing and common investigation protocols that would enable the swift punishment of saboteurs.
Towards a new order
A comprehensive global architecture is vital to strengthening the undersea order. The United States must take a strategic leadership role, treating communication cables not simply as private businesses, but as critical parts of national security.
This means harmonizing diplomacy, defense, and trade rules. Public-private partnerships are key here, as technology companies like Google and Meta operate the vast majority of these systems.
Common standards are also needed for the cyber and physical security of landing stations, which are the points where the network is most vulnerable to human interference. Moreover, strengthening ties between regions, such as ASEAN-EU cooperation, can create a political shield against arbitrary claims by expansionist powers.
States should clarify that underwater drones are the responsibility of the state that owns them and increase penalties for intentional damage to cables. The creation of an intergovernmental organization that conducts impartial technical investigations would help to identify liability and establish a certification program for “trusted cables.”
The ocean floor as a “compass” of global power
Progress in protecting these networks would reduce the opportunities for sabotage and make it more costly for aggressors to operate in the gray area. Although international law is often ignored, strong institutional frameworks would change the cost-benefit analysis of states.
Securing these underwater arteries is not simply a technical procedure, but a battle for freedom of communication and the sustainability of the global economy. In the absence of such an architecture, the order on which we all depend will continue to crumble.
The defining race of this century is not taking place only in space or on terrestrial battlefields, but as Kipling said in his poem, it is being settled deep in the "ribs of the earth", where the life of our modern world is spent. / Taken from "Foreign Affairs", adapted by Pamfleti
Kush tha qe ka zabotim? Jo, jo, e ka fajin AI qe gaboi e nuk eshte gabimi njerezor.