Report Flags Pacific Undersea Cable Sabotage Risk as Chinese Ships Survey Routes
A new report says Pacific subsea cable projects owned by Google, Meta and other US companies carry some of the highest sabotage risk, while Chinese research vessels spend unusual time surveying undersea cables.
The risk assessment was published in September 2026 by the London-based China Strategic Risks Institute, which was contracted to produce it for the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, an independent government commission that advises Congress. The report focuses on China's gray zone tactics aimed at the undersea infrastructure that carries the internet.
The cables at issue form the backbone of the global internet, and a large share of the newest capacity is privately owned. According to the report's assessment, projects owned by US technology companies — Google and Meta among them — are among the most exposed to the threat of sabotage in Pacific waters.
Most damage to undersea cables comes from accidents rather than deliberate action. Bottom-trawling fishing nets and ship anchors dragging across the seabed account for the bulk of breakages, with storms and undersea landslides also contributing.
Heightened international tensions and open conflicts have nonetheless directed new scrutiny at more suspicious instances of cable damage. Analysts have warned in particular about Russia and China carrying out cable sabotage or tampering as "gray zone" tactics that stay short of direct military confrontation.
Alongside the survey activity by Chinese research vessels, Chinese commercial ships are under investigation for cutting cables in both European and Asian waters, according to the report.
The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission's use of outside research follows a pattern of congressional advisory bodies commissioning work on Chinese maritime and technological activity. The findings place private cable owners, rather than governments alone, at the center of the risk picture for Pacific infrastructure.
Editor's Summary
A September 2026 report commissioned by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission and written by the China Strategic Risks Institute identifies Pacific subsea cable projects owned by Google, Meta and other US companies as among the most exposed to sabotage. It points to prolonged surveying by Chinese research vessels and investigations into Chinese commercial ships cutting cables in European and Asian waters. Most cable breaks are accidental, but analysts warn of gray zone tampering by Russia and China.