{"id":39726,"date":"2025-03-24T19:13:22","date_gmt":"2025-03-24T13:43:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=39726"},"modified":"2025-03-24T19:13:24","modified_gmt":"2025-03-24T13:43:24","slug":"seabed-warfare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/24-03-2025\/seabed-warfare","title":{"rendered":"Seabed Warfare in a New Era of Geotech Conflicts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/International Relations; GS3\/Energy Security<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>As nations increasingly rely on undersea infrastructure for communication, energy transmission, and resource extraction, the ocean floor has become a contested space.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Understanding Seabed Warfare<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Seabed warfare encompasses military operations conducted on, from, or targeting the ocean floor.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It involves the use of advanced technologies such as <strong>Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs), Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs)<\/strong>, and submersibles to target critical undersea infrastructure, including:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Communication Cables:<\/strong> Essential for global internet and data transmission.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Energy Pipelines:<\/strong> Vital for transporting oil and gas.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Sensors and Surveillance Systems:<\/strong> Used for monitoring and defense.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Geotech Conflicts<\/strong> refers to geopolitical tensions fueled by advancements in technology. In the seabed warfare domain, it includes:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Cyber and Hybrid Warfare<\/strong>: Deep-sea drones and AI-powered submarines can conduct espionage or sabotage operations without detection.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Autonomous Underwater Systems:<\/strong> Nations are developing advanced UUVs capable of surveillance, reconnaissance, and offensive operations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Seabed Militarization:<\/strong> There are growing concerns about \u2018weaponizing\u2019 the seabed, including installing mines or deploying offensive UUVs near critical infrastructure.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Strategic Importance of the Seabed<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Communication Infrastructure:<\/strong> Over <strong>95% of global internet traffic<\/strong> relies on undersea fiber-optic cables. These cables are essential for global finance, military communications, and internet connectivity.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Energy and Resources:<\/strong> The seabed hosts vast <strong>reserves of oil, gas, rare earth minerals, and polymetallic nodules.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Underwater energy pipelines<\/strong> also form a critical part of global energy supply chains.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Military and Surveillance Operations:<\/strong> Nations deploy sensor networks, submarines, and UUVs for surveillance, intelligence gathering, and military operations on the ocean floor.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Global Incidents &amp; Major Players in Seabed Warfare<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>United States:<\/strong> It has <strong>Seawolf-class and Virginia-class submarines equipped<\/strong> with advanced seabed warfare tools.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>China<\/strong>: It has developed deep-sea research submarines, underwater sensor networks, and artificial intelligence-driven seabed monitoring systems.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The<strong> Great Underwater Wall<\/strong>\u2014a surveillance network in the <strong>South China Sea<\/strong>\u2014aims to detect enemy submarines and vessels.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Russia: <\/strong>The specialized Russian submarine<strong> Losharik and deep-diving research vessel Yantar<\/strong> have been linked to tap or cut undersea cables.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>NATO &amp; European Powers:<\/strong> NATO has increased its focus on protecting undersea infrastructure following recent suspected sabotage incidents, such as the <strong>Nord Stream pipeline explosions.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>European nations, including the UK and France, are investing in seabed security measures.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Sabotage of undersea cables in the Baltic Sea in 2023 and 2024.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>India\u2019s Efforts in Seabed Warfare<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Strengthening Submarine Capabilities:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Project 75 &amp; Project 75I:<\/strong> Acquisition of Scorp\u00e8ne-class submarines (INS Kalvari) and planning for next-generation submarines.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Nuclear Submarines<\/strong> like INS Arihant<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Focus on Undersea Infrastructure Protection:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India\u2019s Deep Ocean Mission For Deep-Sea Mining &amp; Resource Protection.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Seabed Surveillance &amp; Unmanned Systems:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Deployment of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs);<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Coastal &amp; Deep-Sea Monitoring:<\/strong> Project By National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Strategic Alliances &amp; Cooperation:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>QUAD Partnership<\/strong> to enhance maritime security and undersea infrastructure protection in the Indo-Pacific.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Future of Seabed Security<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Strengthening Seabed Surveillance:<\/strong> Nations are deploying AI-powered underwater sensors and satellite-based tracking systems to monitor suspicious seabed activities.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Legal and Policy Frameworks:<\/strong> The <strong>United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)<\/strong> provides some guidelines for seabed governance, but enforcement remains weak.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A new international agreement on seabed security is needed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Advancing Defensive Technologies:<\/strong> Development of <strong>anti-UUV systems<\/strong> to counter underwater drones.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.orfonline.org\/expert-speak\/seabed-warfare-in-a-new-era-of-geotech-conflicts\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Source: ORF<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As nations increasingly rely on undersea infrastructure for communication, energy transmission, and resource extraction, the ocean floor has become a contested space.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39726","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39726"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39726\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39727,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39726\/revisions\/39727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}