IP26039
Authors: Jane Chan Git Yin/Lim Chye Khiang, Nicholas
Published: 11 March 2026
The importance of submarine communication cables, energy cables and oil and gas pipelines is well known. These are now commonly referred to as critical undersea infrastructure (CUI) and are essentially lifelines to critical services on land such as power, communication and financial services. While most incidents of damage to CUI have been accidental, there have been reports of cases near and far that seem to be acts of sabotage. The Newnew Polar Bear incident in the Baltic is a good example. While there are competing accounts of what transpired in the Newnew case, the incident exposed a real security vulnerability for all states relying on the undisrupted operation of such infrastructures.
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The article was published by RSIS.
The Romanian Institute for Europe-Asia Studies (IRSEA) and S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), NTU have agreed to enter into an informal agreement on republishing their studies and analysis.
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