Seabed program
The Seabed Program lays the foundations for Australian strategic thought on seabed critical infrastructure protection and provides policy and strategic choices available to Defence
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
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. Soon, 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.
This project lays the foundations for Australian strategic thought on seabed critical infrastructure protection and provides policy and strategic choices available to Defence.
Led by Australia India Institute research fellow Samuel Bashfield, collaborators 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.
Project Seabed is delivering an international workshop, various short analytical papers, a major policy-relevant report, as well as a comprehensive monograph that will analyse seabed defence. Analysis will progressively be released throughout the duration of this project.
