New Aukus drone subs to protect critical undersea cables as Marles warns: ‘seabed is a battlefield’ | Richard Marles

Defense minister Richard Marles said “the seabed is a battlefield” in a combative speech urging Beijing to be more transparent about naval operations and taking aim at weak international controls on so-called “shadow fleet” ships.

The warning comes after the US, UK and Australia announced a new Aukus project to develop new underwater drone technology to protect undersea cables.

The same announcement also revealed that Australia would purchase three second-hand Virginia-class submarines from the US under Aukus, rather than a mix of old and new, in a bid to “simplify supply chain management, operational and maintenance requirements and maximize cost efficiency”.

Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Marles said undersea internet cables, the “arteries of modern civilisation”, were being cut at an unprecedented rate, leaving island nations such as Australia extremely vulnerable.

He told Asia’s biggest defense summit: “The seabed is turning into a battlefield. The shadow fleet is turning into a weapon.”

“Over the past 18 months, we have witnessed a series of attacks on undersea critical infrastructure at a scale and frequency unprecedented in history.

“This is not speculation. This is a documented pattern of behavior. And we must take it into account honestly.”

Marles stated that in the last 18 months, five cables attributed to China in the Taiwan Strait and three cables allegedly operated by Russia in the Baltic Sea have been cut.

“Maybe these were accidents. But even so, it highlights the fragility of this important part of the world’s infrastructure,” Marles said.

“If they are intentional, we need to ask: Are countries testing our response times, attribution thresholds, and political will to respond?”

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced the first “signature project” for the second leg of the Aukus agreement, the first leg of which is the nuclear submarine project.

“This signature project will deliver a suite of highly adaptable multi-mission UUV payloads designed to support subsea operations and maintain our collective advantage in the maritime domain,” he told reporters at a briefing in Singapore.

UK Defense Secretary John Healey said the planned technology, a range of cutting-edge sensors and weapons systems for undersea drones, would “rapidly provide our forces with the most advanced battlefield technologies”.

Healey added that the systems will be applied to crewless underwater vessels.

Marles said about 99 per cent of Australia’s internet traffic flows through just 15 undersea cables.

“Our financial systems, our health systems, our communications, our intelligence partnerships, our ability to operate as a modern economy and a functioning state: all of these are critically dependent on infrastructure that is exposed, immobile, and can be cut off with a hoe in the middle of the night.”

China has a “real opportunity” to contribute to a more stable Asia-Pacific region, Marles said.

“A commitment to transparency in maritime operations would be a meaningful contribution to the regional stability on which China’s own prosperity depends.

“Current patterns of gray zone activity are not consistent with a peaceful and stable regional order.”

The problem of “shadow fleet” ships operating in the gray zone between commercial shipping and state repressive tools extends far beyond the sensitivity of undersea cables, Marles said.

“These same networks of unregistered, flag-of-conformance vessels are vectors for sanctions evasion, transportation of the energy that fuels Russia’s war in Europe, illegal fishing, and human and drug trafficking.”

Hegseth said the Trump administration will not allow China to dominate the Pacific, but did not directly mention Taiwan.

Hegseth pressed allies in Europe and Asia to spend more on defense, arguing that the United States wants “partners, not protectors.” And he referenced Theodore Roosevelt by declaring that America would “speak softly but carry a big stick.”

Hegseth said the United States wants to work with its allies to create a “stable balance” in the Asia-Pacific.

“A Pacific dominated by any hegemon would unravel the regional balance of power and undermine the balance we all seek to maintain,” Hegseth said.

“Ministry of War [the unofficial alternate name for the US department of defence] “We are working with utmost care to prevent such a dissolution.”

He warned that the Trump administration’s record defense budget request – US$1.5 trillion (AU$2.085 trillion) – would “unleash America’s arsenal of freedom and expand America’s military dominance for decades to come.”

But he did not directly mention Taiwan and the halt of American arms sales to Taiwan, the issue most followed by officials and ministers from other countries after the lackluster summit between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping in Beijing this month.

There are concerns in Taiwan that the Trump White House’s commitment to the autonomous island is less firm than under previous US administrations.

Last year, Hegseth went all out, warning of the “real” and potentially “imminent” threat of China invading the island. He said the Chinese military was “rehearsing for the real deal.”

Beijing’s “One China” principle sees Taiwan as an inalienable part of its territory and promises to “reunify” with the democratically and autonomously governed island, by force if necessary.

Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s claims to sovereignty and insists that the island’s people must determine their own future.