MEDIA RELEASE
RESEARCH FELLOW SAMUEL BASHFIELD WINS SEABED INFRASTRUCTURE GRANT
The Australia India Institute’s Research Fellow, Samuel Bashfield, has been awarded a prestigious 2024 Australian Department of Defence Strategic Policy Grant for his new major research project titled ‘Defending Critical Seabed Infrastructure’.
Seabed infrastructure is increasingly critical for the security of Australia and the Indo-Pacific, with growing instances of seabed warfare around the world. While the 2024 National Defence Strategy calls for measures to protect critical infrastructure, and undersea warfare is listed as a critical capability, security of seabed infrastructure is not specifically addressed.
Australia India Institute CEO Lisa Singh said the awarding of this grant shows the government is committed to improving its seabed infrastructure security and recognises the importance of the Institute’s research in this area.
“Mr Bashfield has already done significant research into seabed infrastructure and is expanding his portfolio of research, becoming a leading expert on this topic.”
This project will examine how Australia and its partners can mitigate threats to seabed critical infrastructure. It will deliver an international workshop, a major policy-relevant report, as well as a comprehensive monograph that will analyse these threats.
Seabed critical infrastructure is proliferating throughout the Indo-Pacific. The seabed is now a superhighway for not only data-carrying fibre optical cables, but also gas pipelines, electricity cables and both fossil and renewable resources. In the near future, seabed mining will supply industry with the critical minerals needed for modern society. However, as the Ukraine War has illuminated, war and heightened geopolitical tension also plays out on the seabed. Seabed warfare is once again manifesting – the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline attack being the most prominent example. While seemingly a new phenomenon, seabed warfare operations have transpired for over a century, as war and conflict play out on the seabed.
Project co-investigators include Associate Professor Sue Thompson and Dr David Brewster at the ANU National Security College, as well as Associate Professor David Lee at UNSW Canberra.
“The Institute identified this as a key area of interest for Australia and the broader Indo-Pacific region, and welcomes the opportunity to support government on future defence and security policy,” Ms Singh said.
Media Enquiries:
Shuba Krishnan, Head of Communications
E: shuba.krishnan@unimelb.edu.au