# China urged to protect underwater cables amid growing fears of ocean sabotage > Source: > Published: 2026-08-05 14:00:13+00:00 # China urged to protect underwater cables amid growing fears of ocean sabotage Prominent policy journal says Beijing should pass a law to close the gap between traditional maritime law and modern grey-zone warfare Beijing has been urged to create its own law to protect its underwater fibre-optic cables, as global fears grow over sabotage of critical ocean infrastructure. The recommendation by Shanghai Maritime University law professor Guo Ran comes amid growing threats to the undersea cables that carry about 99 per cent of global intercontinental data, including in critical chokepoints such as the Red Sea and the Baltic Sea. [Digital Silk Road](https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3237945/railways-5g-why-china-plugging-digital-silk-road?module=inline&pgtype=article), China has a strong interest in safeguarding these cables, which serve as the physical backbone for global [artificial intelligence (AI)](https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3362288/how-global-ai-boom-intensifying-us-china-undersea-stand?module=inline&pgtype=article), according to an article by Guo published last month in Democracy and Legal System. The policy journal is supervised by the China Law Society, a state-run organisation that advises on legislation. [Belt and Road Initiative](https://www.scmp.com/topics/belt-and-road-initiative?module=inline&pgtype=article)to grow global trade. In recent years, China has introduced the Data Security Law and the Cybersecurity Law to tighten its grip on the digital realm, but these legal frameworks have focused on data processing and cross-border data flows, while physical seabed infrastructure has remained largely unregulated.