Government urged to clarify undersea responsibility

The UK Government has faced renewed calls to strengthen its defences against threats to undersea infrastructure, amid concerns about increased activity by Russian and Chinese state actors near vital communication and energy assets.

Speaking during defence questions in the House of Commons, Conservative MP Bob Blackman (Harrow East) asked what steps the Government was taking to bolster protections for submarine cables and other critical offshore infrastructure.

Responding, Minister for the Armed Forces Luke Pollard said the Ministry of Defence (MOD) remained focused on safeguarding undersea networks. “We are committed to maintaining and enhancing the security and resilience of critical undersea infrastructure,” said Pollard. “Just as the Defence Secretary called out the activities of the Russian spy ship Yantar hovering over our undersea cables, let those who threaten the UK or our allies be in no doubt that we will defend our undersea infrastructure.”

Pollard confirmed that the matter is a key focus of the ongoing Strategic Defence Review, which aims to reinforce homeland security in light of evolving global threats.

However, concerns were raised by Conservative MP Nick Timothy (West Suffolk), who criticised the lack of clarity over ministerial responsibility for offshore infrastructure security. “We know that Russia and China target interconnectors and undersea cables… and we know that China controls the tech in the turbines that the Energy Secretary wants to buy,” said Timothy. “When are we going to find out who is actually in charge?”

In response, Pollard said responsibility ultimately lies with the Prime Minister but acknowledged the issue is distributed across multiple departments. “There is no doubt in my mind that the Prime Minister is responsible for the security of this nation, and he delegates different areas to different Departments,” he said.

“Within Defence, we take this seriously and we work with colleagues across Departments to make sure that we are not only securing our infrastructure from a defence perspective, but also using our planning system to make sure development does not impinge on national security.”

Returning to the topic, Blackman urged the Government to consider using autonomous minesweepers to protect key assets. “Clearly the Russians and other enemies would seek to disrupt [undersea cables], so will the Minister look at utilising autonomous minesweepers that could be deployed to protect our undersea cables?” he asked. “In particular, will he commit to looking at introducing them in the Black Sea, if there is a truce between Russia and Ukraine?”

Pollard agreed that the threat to undersea cables is significant. “Many people believe it is satellites, but it is cables,” he noted. “We are investing in new technologies… not only to support undersea cable protection, but to deal with the threat of Russian submarines and other threats to our nations.”