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    Op-Ed                                                                    APRIL 24, 2026    |  The Indian Eye 12

             Securing the Digital Lifelines

                             of Global Connectivity

                        As subsea cables power the modern digital world, the United States

                  is working with partners including India to secure these vital networks and

                                        strengthen connectivity across the Indo-Pacific.

            GIRIRAJ AGARWAL, SPAN Magazine

            U.S. Embassy New Delhi
                  eneath the vast waters of the
                  Indo-Pacific  lies  a  largely  un-
            Bseen  but  indispensable  net-
            work  powering the  modern  world.
            Subsea  cables,  often  overlooked  in
            public  discourse,  are  essential  to
            global  connectivity,  economic  ex-
            change, and strategic coordination.
               “Subsea  cables  carry  over  95
            percent of international internet
            traffic,  supporting  everything  from
            cross-border payments to cloud and
            AI services,” says  an  economic  of-
            ficer  at  U.S.  Embassy  New  Delhi.
               “Because   so   many   routes
            run  through  Indo-Pacific  choke-
            points, any cut or compromise
            there can send shockwaves through
            the  global  economy.”  This  is  why
            securing  subsea  cables  has  be-  A U.S. Navy utilitiesman performs maintenance on subsea cables at the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Hawaii. Subsea cables are essential
            come a frontline  strategic  issue.     to global connectivity, economic exchange, and strategic coordination, and militarily, they are indispensable for national security, logistics, and
                For the United States and                           coalition operations. (U.S. Navy photo by Builder 2nc Class Ben Reed/Released)
            the many  countries  they connect,
            these  cables  are  economic  lifelines.
            “Asia-focused  routes  support  a  vast   networks hold a real impact on how   the  Quad  Partnership  for  Cable   infrastructure. Its geographic posi-
            share  of  U.S.  digital  trade  and  ser-  power is exercised in the Indo-Pacif-  Connectivity and Resilience, linking   tion further enhances its importance,
            vices exports, and one recent esti-  ic.”                           the United States, India, Japan, and   placing it “at the crossroads of Asia,
            mate suggests that connectivity with   Building secure networks     Australia,  seeks  to expand secure   the Middle East, Africa, and Europe,
            the  region  via  subsea  systems  adds                             connectivity and strengthen network   astride key subsea routes.”
            on the order of $169 billion a year to   In response, U.S. policy is in-  resilience across the region.   U.S. companies are playing  a
            the U.S. economy,” the officer says.     creasingly focused on strengthen-  “These  efforts  back  trusted  sup-  central role  in this transformation.
               “They  are  also  the  critical   ing  subsea  cable  infrastructure  and   pliers, push for high infrastructure  “U.S. hyperscalers remain central to
            backbone  of  the  AI  and  cloud   shaping how these networks are   standards, and encourage new cable   India’s digital ecosystem,”  she  says,
            era,”  she  adds,  pointing  to  invest-  built and secured. The Department   routes that avoid single points of fail-  pointing to new investments that
            ments  by  major  U.S.  technology   of State’s CABLES Program, the of-  ure,” says the officer.      are  reshaping  both  India’s  and  the
            firms  in  trans-Pacific  and  regional   ficer explains, “aims to shape where   Partnering for digital   region’s  connectivity  by  diversify-
            cable systems to enhance speed, se-  and  how  new  cables  are  built,  who                          ing landing points. Recent projects
            curity, and resilience.           supplies them, and what security             resilience             in cities like Visakhapatnam and
                The strategic dimension is    standards they follow.”               India is emerging as an import-  Mumbai  are  expected  to  broaden
            equally  significant.  “Militarily,  the   Through partnerships with gov-  ant partner in this evolving land-  India’s  subsea  gateways,  strengthen
            same  fiber-optic  networks  are  in-  ernments and industry, the program   scape.  “India’s  digital  consump-  resilience, and support the AI-scale
            dispensable to the United States for   promotes  best  practices,  route  di-  tion is booming with 36 GB per user   data and cloud capacity the country
            national security, logistics, and coali-  versification, and safeguards against   per  month  which  is  amongst  the   increasingly needs.
            tion operations,” she says. “We need   risks like sabotage, surveillance, and   highest  globally,”  she  notes,  high-  “Beyond the infrastructure itself,”
            to protect them from physical and   overreliance on untrusted vendors.   lighting  its  nearly  one  billion  inter-  says  the  officer,  “U.S.-India  col-
            technical threats because these cable   Complementing these efforts,  net users and rapidly expanding data   Continued on next page... >>

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