China’s newly developed deep-sea cable cutting device eyes communication infrastructures

China has disclosed for the first time that it has developed a compact deep-sea cable-cutting device capable of severing communication lines.

The device can function at depths of up to 4,000 meters and is designed to be used with China’s advanced manned and unmanned submersibles, Caliber.Az reports citing initial reports on the development by Chinese media.

According to the news article, which refers to a peer-reviewed paper published in the Chinese-language journal Mechanical Engineer on February 24, the technology has been developed by the China Ship Scientific Research Center and the State Key Laboratory of Deep-Sea Manned Vehicles.

The cutter is specifically designed to target “armoured cables,” which are reinforced with steel, rubber, and polymer sheaths. These cables constitute the vast majority of global data transmission lines.

Although originally intended for civilian applications such as salvage operations and seabed mining, the article notes that the tool’s potential military implications may raise concerns among governments.

Subsea cables are increasingly viewed as a critical vulnerability in times of heightened tensions or conflict. In recent months, breakages in the Baltic Sea have occurred more frequently, with speculation ranging from sabotage to accidental damage or human error.

By Nazrin Sadigova