By Dr Samuel Bashfield, Prof Balaji Parthasarathy, V. Sridhar and Oscar Youlten
Australia and India are key Indo-Pacific states with significant equities in submarine cable networks and global connectivity. This report, Securing Indo-Pacific Submarine Cable Networks Options for Australia-India Cooperation, is intended to inform policymakers and industry leaders in both nations and to guide Australia’s and India’s approach to submarine cable security.
After an articulation of the challenges posed by submarine cable insecurity in the Indo-Pacific and a brief outline of current policy settings, this report outlines a variety of concrete and implementable policy options available to both countries, which can be pursued bilaterally, unilaterally or through multilateral institutions.
This report was informed by, and builds on, the Australia-India Cables Dialogue 2025: Strengthening Submarine Cable Connectivity, Resilience and Supply Chains, held in Perth on 31 July 2025. At this Dialogue, key Australian and Indian submarine cable industry, government and research experts considered how the two nations can better promote Indo-Pacific submarine cable network security across these three vital themes.
The Dialogue was co-hosted by the Australia India Institute, based at the University of Melbourne and the International Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore. The project was supported by a multi-year grant from Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade under its Australia-India Cyber and Critical Technology Partnership program. The initiative was supported by the Forrest Research Foundation and included a submarine cable infrastructure site visit facilitated by Vocus.
As this Dialogue was held under the Chatham House Rule, the identities of those in attendance is not disclosed.