Climateer Investing: "What’s beneath Russia’s threat to cut undersea cables?"

Thursday, June 22, 2023

"What’s beneath Russia’s threat to cut undersea cables?"

Thinking about the post immediately below, "WSJ Exclusive: 'U.S. Navy Heard What It Believed Was Titan Implosion Days Ago'" and wondering why the Navy would publicly acknowledge the sensors—using the word acknowledge because, although the Americans don't talk about the systems the Russians know the Americans have them and the Americans know the Russians know—one thought comes to mind: The U.S. Navy wanted to remind the Russians, "We can hear you."

And the headline story, from Asia Times, June 23:

It may be bluster but Medvedev’s outburst must be taken seriously due to the vulnerability of cable chokepoints

In what is more than likely to turn out to be an attempt at escalation in the confrontation between NATO and Russia over the war in Ukraine, former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev argued recently on his Telegram channel that Russia should have the right to attack submarine data cables.

Medvedev, whose current job is deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia, claimed such rights against the background of recent media reports on the mysterious sabotage of the Nord Stream undersea gas pipeline last year. He wrote:

If we proceed from the proven complicity of western countries in blowing up the Nord Streams, then we have no constraints – even moral – left to prevent us from destroying the ocean-floor cable communications of our enemies.

The question of who was behind the attacks on the pipelines in the Baltic Sea on September 26 2022, however, remains unresolved. Several reports, rumors and conspiracy theories circulate.

There’s some agreement that the time, location and level of sophistication of the attack indicate the involvement of or support from a government. But the speculation stretches from western special forces or Ukrainian groups being behind the attack to its being a well-orchestrated Russian operation.

In the meantime, none of the official investigations has been concluded and solid evidence that could support any of the narratives remains sparse. The Swedish prosecutor leading one of the investigations announced on June 14 that he hopes to have completed the investigation by autumn.
Vulnerable undersea cables
For all his characteristic bluster, which has included threats involving Russia’s nuclear arsenal, Medvedev’s cable threat should be taken seriously....

....MUCH MORE

November 2022
Security: "The Most Vulnerable Place on the Internet"
March 2019
"A several thousand kilometer long fiber optic cable is to be laid along the Russian Arctic coast as part of the Armed Forces’ building of a new closed internet."
March 2019
"America’s Undersea Battle With China for Control of the Global Internet Grid"

November 2020
"Google plans fiber-optic cable linking Israel and Saudi Arabia"
January 2021
"New Undersea Cables Could Become a Flashpoint in the Arctic"
September 2021
"Facebook Backs Two Major Undersea Cable Projects, Google Joins Forces For One"
That's it.
If Zuckster and the Goog are going to stand astride major communication choke points it's time to work out the details of the shortwave radio setup.
October 2021
"Biggest Tech Companies Now Building the Biggest Data Pipes"
The last time we looked at this topic was September 3's "Facebook Backs Two Major Undersea Cable Projects, Google Joins Forces For One" in which I somehow veered off to Gilligan's Island and how the Professor kept the castaways' radio working.
February 2022
Skulduggery: "'Human activity' behind Svalbard cable disruption"
October 2022
Damaged Cable Leaves Mainland Cut Off From Shetland

And a different sort of cable that didn't happen:

And one that did:
Subsea Power Cable Between Norway and U.K. Goes Live