{"id":705197,"date":"2026-05-30T23:21:24","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T23:21:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/705197\/"},"modified":"2026-05-30T23:21:24","modified_gmt":"2026-05-30T23:21:24","slug":"new-aukus-drone-subs-to-protect-critical-undersea-cables-as-marles-warns-seabed-is-a-battlefield-richard-marles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/705197\/","title":{"rendered":"New Aukus drone subs to protect critical undersea cables as Marles warns: \u2018seabed is a battlefield\u2019 | Richard Marles"},"content":{"rendered":"

The defence minister, Richard Marles<\/a>, has said the \u201cseabed is a battlefield\u201d in a combative speech urging Beijing to be more transparent about its maritime operations, and taking aim at weak international controls over so-called \u201cshadow-fleet\u201d vessels.<\/p>\n

The warning came as the US, UK and Australia announced a new Aukus project to develop new underwater drone technology to protect undersea cables.<\/p>\n

The same announcement also revealed that Australia will buy three second-hand Virginia-class submarines from the US under Aukus, instead of a mix of old and new, in a move to \u201csimplify supply chain management, operational and maintenance requirements, and maximise cost efficiencies\u201d.<\/p>\n

Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Marles said undersea internet cables \u2013 \u201cthe arteries of modern civilisation\u201d \u2013 were being cut at an unprecedented rate, with island nations like Australia acutely vulnerable.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe seabed is becoming a battlefield. The shadow fleet is becoming a weapon,\u201d he told Asia\u2019s largest defence summit.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the past 18 months, we have witnessed a series of attacks against subsea critical infrastructure at a scale and frequency that is historically unprecedented.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not speculation. This is a documented pattern of behaviour. And we must reckon with it honestly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marles cited five cases of cables being cut in the Taiwan Strait in the past 18 months, attributed to China<\/a>, and three in the Baltic Sea, alleged to have been committed by Russia.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, maybe these were accidents. But even if they were, it highlights the vulnerability of this crucial part of the globe\u2019s infrastructure,\u201d Marles said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they were intentional, we are left to wonder: are countries testing our response times, testing our attribution thresholds and testing our political will to respond?\u201d<\/p>\n

The US Secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth<\/a>, announced the first \u201csignature project\u201d for the second pillar of the Aukus treaty, whose first pillar is the nuclear submarine project.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis signature project will deliver a suite of highly adaptable multi-mission UUV payloads designed to support undersea operations and maintain our collective advantage in the maritime domain,\u201d he told reporters at a briefing in Singapore.<\/p>\n

The UK defence secretary, John Healey, said that the planned technology, a \u201crange of cutting edge sensors and weapons systems\u201d for underseas drones, \u201cwill rapidly give our forces the very most advanced battlefield technologies\u201d.<\/p>\n

The systems will be deployed on uncrewed underwater vessels, Healey added.<\/p>\n

About 99% of Australia\u2019s internet traffic flows through just 15 subsea cables, Marles said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur financial systems, our health systems, our communications, our intelligence partnerships, our ability to operate as a modern economy and a functioning state: all of it is critically dependent on infrastructure that is exposed, that cannot move and \u2026 can be cut with an anchor in the middle of the night.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email<\/a><\/p>\n

Marles said China had \u201ca real opportunity\u201d to contribute to a more stable Asia-Pacific region.<\/p>\n

\u201cA commitment to transparency around its maritime operations would be a meaningful contribution to the regional stability upon which China\u2019s own prosperity depends.<\/p>\n

\u201cExisting patterns of grey zone activity are not consistent with a peaceful and stable regional order.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marles said the problem of \u201cshadow-fleet\u201d ships \u2013 vessels operating in the grey zone between commercial shipping and instruments of state coercion \u2013 extended far beyond the vulnerability of subsea cables.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese same networks of unregistered, flag-of-convenience vessels are vectors for sanctions evasion, for the transport of energy that sustains Russia\u2019s war in Europe, for illegal fishing, for human and drug trafficking.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hegseth said the Trump administration<\/a> would not let China dominate the Pacific, but did not directly mention Taiwan.<\/p>\n

Hegseth poured further pressure on allies in Europe and Asia to spend more on defence, arguing the US wanted \u201cpartners not protectorates\u201d. And he invoked Theodore Roosevelt by declaring America would \u201cspeak softly, but carry a big stick\u201d.<\/p>\n

Hegseth said the US wanted to work with allies to create a \u201cstable equilibrium\u201d in the Asia-Pacific.<\/p>\n

\u201cA Pacific dominated by any hegemon would unravel the regional balance of power and undermine the equilibrium we all seek to preserve,\u201d Hegseth said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Department of War [the unofficial alternate name for the US department of defence] is working with the utmost focus to prevent any such unravelling.\u201d<\/p>\n

He warned the Trump administration\u2019s record defence budget request \u2013 US$1.5tn (A$2.085tn) \u2013 would \u201cunleash America\u2019s arsenal of freedom and expand America\u2019s military dominance for decades to come\u201d.<\/p>\n

But he did not directly mention Taiwan, the issue most keenly watched by officials and ministers from other countries, in the wake of an underwhelming summit between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping in Beijing this month, as well as America\u2019s stalled arms sales to Taiwan.<\/p>\n

There is concern in Taiwan that the Trump White House\u2019s commitment to the autonomous island is less robust than that of previous US administrations.<\/p>\n

Last year, Hegseth was full-throated in his position, warning against the \u201creal\u201d and potentially \u201cimminent\u201d threat of a Chinese invasion of the island. He said China\u2019s army was \u201crehearsing for the real deal\u201d.<\/p>\n

Beijing\u2019s \u201cOne China\u201d principle regards Taiwan as an inalienable part of its own territory and has vowed \u201creunification\u201d with the democratic and autonomously governed island, by force if necessary.<\/p>\n

Taiwan\u2019s government rejects Beijing\u2019s sovereignty claims, insisting the island\u2019s people must determine their future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The defence minister, Richard Marles, has said the \u201cseabed is a battlefield\u201d in a combative speech urging Beijing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":705198,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-705197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/705197","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=705197"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/705197\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/705198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=705197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=705197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=705197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}