China has revealed that it has developed a compact deep-sea cable cutting device that is powerful enough to sever communication lines, according to a report in the South China Morning Post.
The tool is said to be able to operate at a depth of up to 4,000 meters (13,123 feet) and has been designed for use with the country’s advanced manned or unmanned submersible vehicles, the report said, citing a peer-reviewed paper published in the Chinese-language journal Mechanical Engineer on Feb. 24.
The subsea tool has reportedly been specifically designed for integration with China’s advanced crewed and uncrewed submersibles like the Fendouzhe, or Striver, and the Haidou series.
Developed by the China Ship Scientific Research Center and State Key Laboratory of Deep-Sea Manned Vehicles, the cutter revealed by China targets so-called “armored cables,” lines with steel, rubber and polymer sheaths that make up the overwhelming majority of global data transmissions, the South China Morning Post added.
While it was invented for civilian salvage and seabed mining use, its other capability could raise alarms with other countries, the outlet reported. The revelation marks the first time any country has officially disclosed that it has such an asset, capable of disrupting critical undersea networks.
Subsea cables have emerged as a key vulnerability facing governments around the world in the event of heightened tensions or outright conflict.
