Back in January, we welcomed a Dr. Benjamin Schmitt to Beyond the Reefs for an eye-opening conversation on the growing threats to undersea communication cables. At the time, Taiwan had just experienced suspected sabotage off its northern coast—one of several similar incidents involving Chinese vessels in both the Indo-Pacific and the Baltic Sea. Benjamin walked us through the risks posed by these attacks—not just to internet connectivity, but to national security, emergency response systems, and even economic stability. It was one of the first times many of us began to grasp that the seabed isn’t just a vast unknown—it’s a strategic frontline.

Today, we pick up that same thread of conversation and dive even deeper. A new report, Underwater Mayhem, supported by the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy and Perry World House at the University of Pennsylvania, outlines a troubling pattern of suspected sabotage and maritime manipulation by authoritarian states like Russia and China. This isn’t just about broken cables—it’s about a new domain of geopolitical competition unfolding beneath the waves.

Full report of "Underwater Mayhem" here: https://upenn.app.box.com/s/wvrobfk9j1h34agng36chj73ibtkcx0h