Seventeen countries, including Qatar, have launched a new framework to enhance cooperation on the security of critical underwater infrastructure, including subsea telecommunications cables and energy networks.
The Guiding Principles for Underwater Infrastructure Defense Exchanges (GUIDE) was launched on the sidelines of the 23rd Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD) in Singapore, bringing together countries from Europe, the Middle East, Oceania, and Southeast Asia to strengthen collaboration in protecting critical underwater assets.
The framework outlines shared principles and potential areas of cooperation among defense establishments to improve the security and resilience of underwater infrastructure.
According to Singapore’s Ministry of Defense (MINDEF), GUIDE is intended to support cooperation among countries with common interests in safeguarding infrastructure that underpins global communications and energy systems.
Singapore’s Minister for Defence, Chan Chun Sing, said that the countries need to work together to establish international norms for building, maintaining, and protecting critical underwater infrastructure while ensuring accountability for actions that threaten its security.
Chan Chun Sing added that, “Underwater infrastructure has become increasingly important to the global economy as it supports both telecommunications and energy networks. Today, the waterways are not just avenues for us to conduct our trade, but underneath those waters are also critical underwater infrastructure that connects our energy grid and our telecommunications grid.”
Chan Chun Sing | Image Courtesy: Singapore Ministry of Defence | Cropped by GBN
Chan noted that disruptions to such networks can have consequences that extend beyond national borders.
“We don’t want a situation whereby such critical infrastructures are disrupted and all of us get the negative knock-on effect. Any attack on one part of the network is an attack on the entire network. Any disruption on one part of the network is a disruption on the entire network,” Chan added.
MINDEF underscored that the framework is voluntary and does not create legal, financial, or binding obligations for participating countries. It also does not affect existing rights and obligations under international law.
Countries endorsing the GUIDE framework include Australia, Brunei, Estonia, Finland, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, Qatar, Singapore, Sweden, Thailand, and the United Kingdom.
The initiative aims to strengthen cooperation on safeguarding critical underwater infrastructure that supports global communications and energy systems.
