The UK is seriously vulnerable to possible disruptions to its underwater infrastructure, in particular the underwater cables that provide almost all international communications and a significant part of the country's energy supply. An analytical report published in 2025 notes that Britain is "terribly" unprepared for sabotage by China and Russia, which have the technical capabilities to carry out such operations.
Underwater cables laid on the seabed are critical for global data transmission and energy supplies. In recent years, British intelligence has been recording the activity of Russian spy ships such as the Yantar, which are exploring Britain's underwater infrastructure, including gas pipelines and telecommunications lines. Similar threats are coming from China, which has developed deep-sea devices capable of cutting cables at depths up to 4,000 meters, which significantly exceeds current protection capabilities.
The UK has already experienced incidents where several cables in the Baltic Sea have been damaged in a short period of time, raising concerns about infrastructure security. At the same time, experts emphasize that the abandonment of coal-fired power plants and high dependence on gas imports through offshore pipelines make the country's energy system particularly vulnerable.
The UK government is taking measures to strengthen protection, including the development of touch sensors for monitoring underwater cables, but experts believe that these efforts are not enough to prevent possible sabotage. There are calls in Parliament for more serious training and strengthening of the defense capability of critical infrastructure.
No comments:
Post a Comment