Submarine cable vulnerability in Malacca Strait threatens regional finance and services
Experts warn that damage to the undersea cables in the Strait of Malacca could disrupt banks, hospitals and airports across Southeast Asia.
In an interview, Dr Shahridan Faiez explained that the Strait of Malacca, already vital for global trade and oil shipments, also hosts submarine cables that handle daily financial transactions worth billions of dollars. Any serious incident to these cables would cripple essential services, including banks, hospitals and airports throughout Malaysia and neighboring countries. He dismissed the idea of diverting shipping to the Lombok and Makassar straits, citing far lower vessel numbers and insufficient infrastructure such as ports and repair yards.
Moreover, only about 20 of the 60 specialised cable-repair vessels worldwide are operational at a given moment, meaning fixes could take months. Faiez urged regional states to maintain collective security and warned against external powers seeking a policing role, emphasizing ASEAN’s centrality in safeguarding the waterway.
Why it matters
A cable outage in the Malacca Strait could halt critical financial and public services across Southeast Asia.
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