The new front line of national security: Protecting the Philippines’ undersea cables
Cybersecurity discussions often focus on strategy, geopolitics, or emerging technologies. Yet in the Indo-Pacific, the most overlooked truth is also the most fundamental: cyber resilience depends on logistics. It depends on whether we can repair, maintain and sustain the physical infrastructure—data centers, cables, satellites—that supports our digital economies and social stability.
In the Philippines, no infrastructure illustrates this better than the undersea cables lying quietly on the ocean floor. These cables carry about 95% of global internet traffic. Satellites, despite rapid advances, still handle only a fraction. The world now operates more than 1.5 million kilometers of submarine cables and the Philippines alone hosts roughly 16,000 kilometers, or 1.1% of the global total—a remarkable figure for an archipelagic nation. For both Japan and the Philippines, these cables are essential not just for international communication but also for domestic connectivity linking our islands.
Yet submarine cables are fragile and they fail far more often than most people realize.
A vulnerability hidden beneath the waves
Every few days, somewhere on Earth, a submarine cable is damaged. Some breaks come from anchors or fishing activity; others from aging equipment or natural disasters. In September this year, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake off Cebu damaged both power lines and communication cables. ATMs went down, businesses paused and families struggled to reach loved ones.
But today’s concerns extend beyond natural hazards. In 2024, two subsea cables in the Baltic Sea were severed in what investigators assessed “with high confidence” to be Russian sabotage. The incident was so serious that Finland’s foreign minister warned it could even trigger Article 5 of the NATO Treaty—the alliance’s collective defense mechanism. It was a stark reminder that damage to undersea cables is no longer merely a communications issue but a potential catalyst for collective military response and a pressing national security concern.
The scale of this challenge was clear at a conference hosted by the Stratbase Institute on November 20, 2025, at The Peninsula Manila. The forum gathered ambassadors, industry leaders and senior officials from the Philippines, Japan, the United States, Australia, Canada and the European Union. Their presence reflected a shared recognition that the Indo-Pacific has become a hotspot of cyber conflict, where state and non-state actors increasingly exploit vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure and test the limits of national defenses.
At the event, Japan’s Ambassador Kazuya Endo emphasized this interconnected reality, noting that “In the borderless cyberspace, vulnerabilities within one country or region can quickly become vulnerabilities for the entire international community.” Undersea cables embody this truth: a single break can disrupt economies and the lives of millions across borders.
Why Cebu’s cables were restored in weeks, not months
Despite the severity of the Cebu earthquake damage, the affected cable was repaired quickly—within weeks rather than the months typical in other regions such as Taiwan or Tonga. The reason is simple: There are only 63 cable-repair ships in the world and demand for their services far exceeds supply. Yet the Philippines has one of them homeported in Batangas.”
Earlier 2025, NTT World Engineering Marine, part of the Japanese telco NTT Group, deployed the new repair ship CS VEGA II to Batangas, where it maintains many of the Philippines’ domestic subsea cables. In mid-November 2025, I had the opportunity to visit the ship. From Manila, it took two hours to reach the port, where about 40 Filipino crew members were on standby for the next operation. They showed me the heavy steel anchor used to retrieve the Cebu cable—scratched and worn from years of service.
From the deck, the NTT logo is visible on the hull beside the Philippine flag. The vessel is Philippine-flagged, captained and crewed by Filipinos. During repair missions, Japanese engineers join the crew and work alongside their Filipino counterparts.
Batangas also hosts a dedicated “cable depot,” a warehouse that stores and organizes multiple types of cables used across different systems. Each cable type is kept in precise inventory—ready to be deployed at a moment’s notice. When a fault occurs, the repair vessel first comes to this depot, loads the replacement and only then heads out to the site. This quiet logistical backbone is one of the reasons why Cebu’s restoration was measured in weeks, not months.
NTT has also sent four young Filipino engineers to the United Kingdom for specialized training, ensuring they acquire the advanced skills needed to splice and joint submarine cables. These investments strengthen the long-term resilience of the Philippines’ communications infrastructure.
The strategic stakes for the Philippines
Cable resilience is far more than a technical matter—it underpins national security, economic competitiveness and the Philippines’ ambition to become a regional digital hub. With Manila preparing for its 2026 ASEAN Chairship and accelerating digital transformation, rapid and reliable cable repair has become a strategic necessity. As DICT Secretary Henry Aguda noted at the conference, the Philippines has both the talent and the geography to attract hyperscalers—but resilience must come first.
Two policy priorities for the Indo-Pacific
First, become major players in cable-vessel operations. The real competition is not between Manila and Tokyo, but with large state-supported Chinese firms such as HMN Tech and FiberHome, which dominate global cable construction and maintenance. Securing an open, trusted Indo-Pacific requires Japan and the Philippines to strengthen their own logistics capabilities and ensure they can respond rapidly to incidents.
Second, align cable resilience with data-center expansion.Cables are the arteries that feed data centers. If repairs take too long, hyperscalers will redirect investment to more resilient markets. Strengthening cable operations should therefore be treated as a critical enabler of the Philippines’ goal to become a regional data hub serving Southeast Asia. The strategic objective is not the cable itself, but the digital infrastructure and economic growth it enables.
Shared security starts beneath the waves
People—not abstract strategies, ultimately build cyber resilience. It is built by Filipino engineers, Japanese partners, port authorities, policymakers and the regional alliances that support them. As the Philippines prepares for its ASEAN Chairship and deepens cooperation with Japan, strengthening undersea cable resilience must be at the heart of the regional agenda.
A secure, free, open and prosperous Indo-Pacific begins with the infrastructure beneath the waves—and with the cooperation that keeps it strong.
Dr. Koichiro Komiyama, director of the Global Coordination Division, JPCERT/CC (Japan Computer Emergency Response Team Coordination Center).
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