New Delhi/Canberra: India and Australia must lead in shaping cyber and maritime frameworks to secure undersea cables that carry nearly 95% of global internet traffic, experts said at a high-level webinar hosted by CUTS International and RMIT University.
“Subsea cable resilience is not just a technological challenge but a matter of national and global security,” said moderator Prem Chhetri of RMIT.
Speakers highlighted how Australia’s financing capacity and India’s manufacturing scale could boost Indian Ocean connectivity, trusted supplier ecosystems and joint repair facilities. They urged deeper Quad and ASEAN engagement, including through Malabar and AUSINDEX naval exercises, to protect high-density cable routes.
“Submarine cables are increasingly instruments of geopolitical influence,” said retired Capt. Sarabjeet Parmar of the Council for Strategic and Defence Research. He called for cable security to be placed on agendas of regional forums such as the Quad and IORA.
RMIT’s Matthew Warren noted Australia’s Cable Connectivity and Resilience Centre as a benchmark of Indo-Pacific cooperation, while Jindal School’s Pooja Bhatt stressed multilateral intelligence-sharing.
Closing the session, CUTS International’s Purushendra Singh said India and Australia are “set to lead a secure digital future in the Indo-Pacific.”
The August 27 webinar, titled Securing the Indo-Pacific’s Digital Arteries, drew more than 40 participants.
