PH Tightens Countermeasures Over Cable-Cutting Reports

Jeoffrey Maitem - : Jan 11, 2026 - : 8:28 pm

The Philippines is stepping up countermeasures amid reports of cable-cutting incidents in the region, including monitoring subsea cables as part of broader efforts to protect underwater infrastructure from sabotage and espionage. Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, the Philippine Navy’s spokesperson...

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Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, the Philippine Navy’s spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, was quoted by Defense News on Jan. 5 as saying the responsibility for protecting subsea infrastructure will fall under the navy’s purview.

While specific capabilities were not disclosed, Trinidad said the surveillance would involve capturing detailed imagery of underwater terrain to establish seabed profiles and monitor environmental changes over time.

“That would give us further reasons to focus on specific areas. It is still in the exploratory stages, but we have been conducting exercises on this with other navies, especially with our defense treaty ally, the United States,” Trinidad noted.

Several submarine cables run through Philippine waters, carrying data vital to trade and communications and linking Southeast Asia with the United States, India and Hong Kong.

Beyond the outright destruction of seafloor communications lines, the Philippine Navy flagged another risk: adversaries hacking or tapping undersea cables to steal data.

In March last year, Beijing unveiled they had developed a ship capable of cutting cables at depths of up to 4,000 meters. The tool was developed by the China Ship Scientific Research Centre and its affiliated State Key Laboratory of Deep-sea Manned Vehicles.

China has defended the technology as intended for civilian uses such as salvage and seabed mining, while acknowledging it could have military applications.

While there are no confirmed reports of China allegedly involvement in cutting cables in the South China Sea, tensions remain high amid concerns over its deep-sea cable-cutting capabilities and Taiwan’s accusations of sabotage.

In June 2025, a Chinese national, identified by his surname Wang and captain of the Togolese-registered vessel Hong Tai 58, was sentenced to three years in prison for damaging an undersea cable connecting Taiwan's main island and the Penghu islands in the Taiwan Strait.