Abu dhabi: Seventeen countries, including Singapore, launched on Saturday at the Shangri-La Dialogue a framework to protect critical underwater infrastructure.
According to Emirates News Agency, the nations, hailing from Europe, the Middle East, Oceania, and Southeast Asia, introduced the Guiding Principles for Underwater Infrastructure Defence Exchanges (GUIDE). This initiative aims to unify countries with shared interests in safeguarding critical underwater infrastructure, such as subsea telecommunications cables.
Singapore's Defence Minister, Chan Chun Sing, emphasized the necessity for international cooperation in establishing norms to build, maintain, and protect essential underwater infrastructure while holding accountable those who threaten these assets. His remarks were made during the launch at the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia's premier defence summit in Singapore.
The Singapore Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) detailed that the GUIDE represents a consensus on shared principles and potential collaborative areas for enhancing underwater infrastructure security. The framework is voluntary, neither legally nor financially binding, and does not impose new legal obligations or affect existing rights and obligations under international law.
Countries endorsing the GUIDE framework include Australia, Brunei, Estonia, Finland, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, Qatar, Singapore, Sweden, Thailand, and the United Kingdom. MINDEF highlighted that GUIDE exemplifies how geography is not a barrier, allowing nations to collaborate in adaptable, issue-focused groups to influence rules and norms in emerging domains.
Minister Chan underscored the importance of underwater infrastructure, noting, "Today, the waterways are not just avenues for us to conduct our trade, but underneath those waters are also critical underwater infrastructure that connects our energy grid, our telecommunications grid." He stressed the potential widespread impact of any disruption, stating, "Any disruption on one part of the network is a disruption on the entire network, and that is why it gives us great joy to see so many countries - from Europe to the Middle East to Southeast Asia, Asia Pacific - coming together."