The Indo-Pacific's Fraying Lifelines

A CSIS report urges new multilateral frameworks to protect Indo-Pacific submarine cables from rising physical and geopolitical threats

26 Mar 2026

The legal frameworks protecting submarine cables in the Indo-Pacific are outdated and failing to match modern threats, according to a major policy report released by the Center for Strategic and International Studies on March 24, 2026. The analysis calls on governments to use ASEAN and other multilateral bodies to enforce cable protection rules with real consequences, including tighter controls on ship registries, port access restrictions, and insurance conditions for vessels with poor compliance records.

The financial stakes are already visible. After Red Sea cable cuts in September 2025, insurance premiums for repair ships rose by as much as 50%, exposing the industry's vulnerability when cables are severed in high-risk zones.

Most cable damage is still caused by fishing gear and ship anchors rather than deliberate action. But rising concern about intentional interference, particularly near contested maritime zones, means governments can no longer treat cable protection as a routine compliance matter. The report frames subsea infrastructure as a strategic asset requiring coordinated state-level attention.

The Indo-Pacific connects three of the world's largest economies and underpins cloud services, financial systems, and cross-border communications for hundreds of millions of people.

Beyond enforcement, the report calls for investment in seabed mapping, AI-assisted vessel tracking, and anomaly detection technology to give governments earlier warning of threats. It also points to a significant capability gap between advanced economies with sophisticated maritime monitoring and smaller states where response capacity remains limited, arguing that cooperative capacity-building is essential for any regional framework to function across the full length of a cable route.

For operators, insurers, and investors, the direction of travel is becoming clear. The Indo-Pacific's regulatory environment is moving toward tighter compliance expectations and stronger multilateral coordination.