Increasing Damage to Undersea Cables Challenges NATO

The increasing frequency of underwater infrastructure damage across Europe raises legal issues regarding the jurisdiction and ownership of submarine cables, which could limit NATO’s ability to act in the region and pose a serious threat to international security.

Underwater Infrastructure and Legal Challenges

Underwater cables are vital for critical services such as telecommunications, internet and power transmission. However, much of this infrastructure is located in international waters, allowing saboteurs to exploit gaps in control.

“Once you go outside territorial waters, there is basically not much regulation, which makes the area attractive to those who want to operate outside of jurisdiction,” said Captain Niels Markussen, director of NATO’s Maritime Centre for Critical Underwater Infrastructure Security.

Determining whether damage was accidental or intentional poses an additional challenge. While authorities can rely on evidence such as DNA and fingerprints for sabotage on land, proving crime underwater is much more difficult.

International Law and Submarine Cables

Determining who is responsible for the sabotage is complicated by the fact that different laws apply depending on where the cables are laid, according to a report by the Atlantic Council.

Coastal states such as Norway or Sweden have sovereign rights in their territorial waters under Article 21 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and are entitled to repair and maintain submarine cables in their exclusive economic zones. However, jurisdictional complications arise when it comes to damaged infrastructure in international waters.

“If cables are damaged intentionally or accidentally by a ship or person, the authority to determine the appropriate penalty for the perpetrator lies with the state whose flag the ship flies or the state of which the person is a national,” the report said.

The Increasing Role of Private Companies

Another major problem is that the vast majority of undersea communications infrastructure is owned by private telecommunications companies. Tech giants such as Google, Meta and Amazon are increasingly investing in financing new undersea cables, leaving 99 percent of this infrastructure under private sector control.

This situation increases security risks by limiting the authority of states to protect infrastructures and take measures against sabotage.

NATO's Unmanned Surveillance Initiative

In January 2024, Admiral Pierre Vandier, NATO’s conceptual and transformation commander based in Norfolk, Virginia, announced NATO’s plan to protect critical underwater infrastructure using unmanned surface ships and drone technology.

In this context, it is planned to use unmanned aerial vehicles as part of the maritime patrol mission in the Baltic Sea. These systems will be integrated with other unmanned systems provided to NATO by its members, making sabotage and damage detection faster. “In less than a few weeks, we will bring new unmanned aerial vehicles and eight Baltic Sea countries will provide NATO with their own unmanned aerial vehicles,” Vandier said, adding that the system will be widespread.

The increasing damage to underwater infrastructure in Europe poses a critical security challenge for NATO and countries. Legal gaps, jurisdictional complexities and the increasing role of private companies create a fertile environment for saboteurs. NATO’s efforts to counter this threat with unmanned surveillance technologies could be a critical step in protecting international underwater infrastructure.