The world's undersea cable network spans roughly 1.4 million kilometers (870,000 miles) and carries over 95% of intercontinental internet traffic, yet it remains vulnerable to accidental damage, such as ship anchors, and deliberate disruption.

Recent incidents in the Baltic and Red Sea have underscored the cables' fragility. Policymakers are now staging international initiatives to safeguard the system.

"We need to work together to defend the entire network," Singaporean Minister of Defense Chan Chun Sing said at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia's premier security forum, earlier this month.

"There's no point trying to defend the integrity and security of a submarine cable by looking at a point. We need both ends to be secure," he added.

In February 2024, multiple cables in the Red Sea were severed when anchors from a cargo vessel sunk by Houthi militants dragged along the seabed. The damage caused a sharp reduction in internet capacity between Europe and Asia, disrupting everything from financial transactions to video conferencing.

Meanwhile, Europe has struggled with a series of similar faults in the Baltic Sea, with many Western officials hinting those cables were intentionally damaged by Russia-linked ships. Experts warn, however, that there is no proof of deliberate damage.

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