China has announced the development of a deep-sea device capable of cutting undersea communication and power cables.
According to a South China Morning Post report, the tool was developed by the China Ship Scientific Research Centre (CSSRC) and the State Key Laboratory of Deep-sea Manned Vehicles. It is designed to operate at depths of up to 4,000 meters (13,123 feet)—twice as deep as the armored cables that carry 95% of the world’s data traffic typically rest.
China is not even hiding it any more… the country has unveiled a compact, deep-sea, cable-cutting device, capable of severing the world’s most fortified underwater communication or power lines at depths of up to 4,000m — twice the maximum operational range of existing subsea… pic.twitter.com/SI8UmSrX4o
— Byron Wan (@Byron_Wan) March 22, 2025
Researchers insist that the device, designed to integrate with China’s advanced crewed and uncrewed submersible vehicles, including Fendouzhe (Striver) and Haidou, is intended for “civilian salvage” and seabed mining operations.
This is the first time any country has publicly revealed a tool specifically designed to cut deep-sea communication lines.
China’s announcement comes amid a series of suspected Chinese-linked disruptions to undersea cables near Taiwan, where previous incidents have been attributed to ship anchors dragging across the seabed.
In November 2024, a Chinese vessel, identified as Yi Peng 3, was accused of severing two critical internet cables in the Baltic Sea by dragging its anchor along the seabed for over 100 miles.
