"Ocean Floor to Become a Battlefield": China’s Undersea Threat to the U.S.
U.S. officials warn of Chinese threats to undersea cables carrying 99% of internet traffic and 10 trillion dollars in daily transactions. experts cite a critical gap in infrastructure defense as adversaries target global financial and communication arteries.
U.S. officials are warning that the American economy faces a significant threat from adversaries, led by China, due to their ability to damage undersea communication cables.
These cables carry the vast majority of global internet traffic and support the world's primary financial systems.
The warning comes ahead of a planned meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. The two leaders are expected to discuss trade issues, artificial intelligence, and the status of Taiwan.
Andrew Badger, a former Pentagon official and current strategy director at defense firm Coalition Systems, stated in an interview with Fox News that America depends on the "fragile nervous system" of undersea cables for modern life. Badger warned that China and Russia are seeking to turn the ocean floor into a battlefield.
According to Badger, China and Russia are investing significantly more resources into attacking undersea infrastructure than the U.S. and its allies are investing in its defense. He noted that these adversaries have identified one of America's greatest vulnerabilities, and the West has yet to close the gap.
The Toll of Disruption
Badger added that a coordinated attack on U.S. undersea cables could fundamentally disrupt the American way of life. The internet, banking systems, energy markets, and military communications all rely on these cables. While the economic cost would be nearly incalculable, the true damage would be the resulting chaos and political instability.
10 Trillion Dollars in Daily Transactions
Data presented to the U.S. Senate indicates that undersea cables carry 99% of global internet traffic and support financial transactions worth up to 10 trillion dollars every day.
Concerns intensified after China’s Ministry of Natural Resources confirmed in April the successful testing of an advanced device capable of cutting armored cables at depths of 3,500 meters. Simultaneously, several mysterious incidents involving undersea cables have been reported in recent years near Taiwan and in Europe, including cases where Chinese vessels were suspected of intentional damage.
Badger argued that this represents hybrid warfare in its purest form, designed to weaken rivals without escalating to open conflict.
He concluded that these capabilities provide Beijing and Moscow the power to trigger devastating economic chaos at will, granting both nations immense strategic leverage over the United States.