Retired brigadier warns Australia's undersea cables are exposed to foreign sabotage
Former senior Army officer Ian Langford is concerned Australia’s digital lifelines remain dangerously exposed and warns China’s AI overtures come with a big cost.
A former senior Australian Army officer has warned that Australia’s undersea cables are dangerously exposed to foreign sabotage, as Beijing seeks to expand its influence over middle powers through technology partnerships, including in artificial intelligence.
Retired Brigadier Ian Langford said recent incidents in the Baltic Sea and off the coast of Taiwan — largely suspected to be the work of Russia and China respectively — had “confirmed as fact” that submarine cables are now an active target for coercion and sabotage by hostile states.
Undersea cables are a particularly acute vulnerability for Australia, with a network of just 15 subsea cables carrying 99% of Australia’s international internet traffic including classified communications and data.
"Damage to these cables could disrupt communications, banking, and defence operations. Experts warn that such sabotage could have catastrophic effects on national security," said Langford, now a professor at UNSW and executive director of the Security and Defence PLuS Alliance.
