Sense of Congress

It is the sense of Congress that— (1) critical undersea infrastructure represents vital strategic and economic links between the United States and its partners and allies; (2) according to NATO, undersea cables carry an estimated $10 trillion in transfers every day; two-thirds of the world’s oil and gas is either extracted at sea or transported by sea; and around 95 percent of global data flows are transmitted via undersea cables; (3) since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, there has been a marked increase in high-profile suspected sabotage incidents resulting in damage to critical undersea infrastructure, especially across Northern Europe and East Asia; (4) the United States Government has an important role to play in advancing United States interests in international bodies that oversee the protection of critical undersea infrastructure, including promoting network resilience and redundancy, and advancing regulations in support of these goals; (5) the United States Government should play a more active role in NATO initiatives such as the NATO Maritime Centre for the Security of Critical Undersea Infrastructure, the Critical Undersea Infrastructure Coordination Cell, the Critical Undersea Infrastructure Network, and the NATO-EU Task Force on the Resilience of Critical Infrastructure, allied maritime security efforts such as the Joint Expeditionary Force, Indo-Pacific initiatives, including the Quad Partnership for Cable Connectivity and Resilience, and international organizations such as the International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC), in order to advance United States national security and economic interests; (6) the United States should lead efforts to promote the deployment of resilient critical undersea infrastructure networks, enhance situational awareness, strengthen preparedness, and formalize collective responses among allies and partners through enhanced information sharing and coordination; and (7) while critical undersea infrastructure owners and other associated private sector stakeholders carry significant responsibility in safeguarding this infrastructure, the United States Government and allied foreign governments need to play a greater role.