Undersea Cable Cuts In Red Sea Disrupt Internet In Asia And Middle East

Cuts to undersea cables in the Red Sea disrupted internet access in parts of Asia and the Middle East on Sunday, though the cause of the incident remains unclear.

The disruptions affected major subsea systems, including the South East Asia–Middle East–Western Europe 4 (SMW4) and the India-Middle East-Western Europe (IMEWE) lines near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, according to NetBlocks, which monitors global connectivity.

It said the outages slowed internet services in several countries, including India. Microsoft, through its online service status page, warned that users in the Middle East “may experience increased latency due to undersea fibre cuts”, though it noted that internet traffic routed outside the region was not affected.

Subsea cables are critical to global internet traffic, carrying the majority of international data. While providers can reroute traffic when one link fails, such incidents typically cause noticeable slowdowns. Repairs can take weeks, requiring specialised ships to locate and fix cables lying deep on the seabed.

The incident comes amid continuing security concerns in the Red Sea, where Yemen’s Houthi rebels have attacked shipping since late 2023 in what they describe as pressure on Israel to end its war against Hamas in Gaza. While suspicions have arisen over possible sabotage, the Houthis have repeatedly denied targeting subsea cables.