Canberra, Australia – Despite geopolitical churns, the Indo-Pacific has become the epicentre of global competition, and India and Australia have both the responsibility and opportunity to lead in co-creating robust cyber and maritime frameworks to safeguard digital arteries, said Ujjwal Kumar, Associate Director, CUTS International during his welcoming remarks.
Underlining the urgency of building resilience in subsea cable systems, calling it not just a technological challenge but a matter of national and global security & sovereignty, the moderator, Prem Chhetri, Academic Director, International Engagement, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University, Melbourne led the discourse.
“Australia’s Infrastructure Financing Facility paired with India’s manufacturing scale can transform Indian Ocean connectivity. Joint efforts in trusted supplier ecosystems, training programmes, and shared repair capacities offer strategic benefits, said Samuel Bashfield, Research Fellow and Director of Security and Geopolitics, Australia-India Institute.
He further highlighted how India and Australia could help bridge connectivity gaps by linking Indo-Pacific neighbours to trusted subsea systems. “Partnerships in technology-sharing and capacity-building are key to closing these gaps,”
Highlighting the global maritime dimension, Capt. Sarabjeet Parmar (Retd.), Distinguished Fellow at the Council for Strategic and Defence Research, remarked that submarine cables are increasingly instruments of geopolitical influence. He stressed that India and Australia must expand cooperation through joint naval exercises such as Malabar and AUSINDEX, while also establishing policy frameworks to secure high-density cable routes within India’s Exclusive Economic Zone.
He suggested, “forums like the Quad, IORA and other regional groupings should address submarine cable security, which could have India as chair in some cases and Australia could serve as vice-chair or vice-versa. This way, it will enable discussions under maritime security working groups to protect these vital links”.
Deeper engagement with ASEAN nations, particularly to manage cable flows through the Malacca Strait and the Indonesian and Philippine archipelagos, will be critical next steps in securing these digital lifelines, he added.
“We can use AI and digital tools to model scenarios, identify vulnerabilities, and enhance resilience in submarine cable systems,” observed Professor Matthew Warren, Director of the Centre for Cyber Security Research and Innovation, RMIT.
He added that Australia’s contribution to the Quad is through the Cable Connectivity and Resilience Centre, which provides technical assistance across the Indo-Pacific to address both physical and technological challenges in undersea cabling. He remarked that the centre stands as a benchmark of India–Australia collaboration in shaping a secured and resilient Indo-Pacific region.
Speakers opined that a Quad leaders’ summit hosted by India could help soothe tensions and align approaches among the four partners towards a coherent regional strategy.
In addition, Dr Pooja Bhatt, Associate Professor at Jindal School of International Affairs, emphasised the role of similar multilateral platforms in enhancing cooperation and intelligence-sharing, “these frameworks can ensure redundancy and security across the Indo-Pacific,”
Delivering the closing remarks, Purushendra Singh, Associate Director at CUTS International, said, “India and Australia are set to lead a secure digital future in the Indo-Pacific. Through our partnership with RMIT University, CUTS International is driving dialogue to strengthen India–Australia collaboration for a secure, inclusive, and responsible digital future”.
CUTS International, a forty-two-year-old global public policy, research and advocacy group in partnership with the Centre for Cyber Security Research and Innovation at the RMIT University hosted this high-level webinar, titled, “Securing the Indo-Pacific’s Digital Arteries: India–Australia Collaboration for Cyber and Maritime Resilience” The session, held virtually on 27 August 2025, brought together distinguished experts and over forty participants to deliberate on the growing strategic importance of subsea cables or the digital lifelines which carries almost 95% of the internet globally.
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