Federal police urged to investigate 'concerning' subsea cable fault
Two subsea cables off the coast of Perth, vital for international communications, suffered a fault over the weekend, and the company that owns them urgently wants to know what happened.
Two separate subsea cables in the Submarine Cable Protection Zone off Perth experienced faults in quick succession over the weekend, according to the cables' owner, Subco. Bevan Slattery, CEO of Subco, expressed concern about the incidents on LinkedIn and called for the Australian Federal Police (AFP) to investigate urgently. Dr. David Brewster, a senior research fellow at the Australian National University's National Security College, emphasized the critical importance of these international cables, stating that 99% of Australia's international communications are carried by them.
Australia has 16 subsea cables that transport the vast majority of its international communications, which are vital for daily life and the economy. Undersea cables are vulnerable to accidental damage, such as from ship anchors, and can be targeted by state actors like Russia and China. Dr. Brewster suggested that having more cables would enhance protection, as well as clarifying the need for a dedicated agency to oversee cable protection and response.
The AFP received a report of crime related to the incident, but further comment will be made at an appropriate time.
Written by urgent.news from ABC News AU's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
