5 ms·
> The issue is probably availability I imagine every undersea cable would be cut in the first week of a US-China conflict, regardless of who built it.
by mullingitover 7y ago
> The issue is probably availability
I imagine every undersea cable would be cut in the first week of a US-China conflict, regardless of who built it.
- jdsully 7y agoIt seems to me that the US-China conflict has already started as a slow but expanding series of limited engagements. Today these are economic and "cyber". However even if such a conflict were to go kinetic, it would likely be in a more limited sense - most likely at sea. An example of what limited conflict looks like is the Sino-Indian war which was kept confined to a limited geographic area. Its not a forgone conclusion that a conflict has to become "total".
- twoIfBySea 7y agomost likely at sea There's no way a threat to navies won't quickly jump to very serious warfare, of a kind that breaks open to involve lots more than just limited seaborne engagements. An oceanic conflict in the Pacific is going to ruin air traffic, and with both air and sea lanes compromised, you see the beginnings of blockades and economic business as usual encounters entanglements all over. If big expensive ships start sinking, and the projection of air power changes, everything else heats up very quickly, because replacing military fleets (and the sailors to match) is a slow process, and any major setback could prove permanent and lasting. Don't expect a naval limited war to stay limited for long.
- jdsully 7y agoThe most likely scenario would be one “freedom of navigation” cruise too many. In which case it would be a small number of vessels. It’s in neither countries interest to have all out warfare so it seems unlikely the skirmish would extend past the vessels involved.
- rusk 7y agoWell that's all good for the cables connecting USA and China but what about cables elsewhere? I guess in such a situation you wouldn't want you opponent to have control of critical infrastructure.
- azernik 7y agoGP means that cables connecting enemy territories would be cut by submarines, not just that cables connecting warring parties would be cut at landfall.
- walshemj 7y agoor drop a PGM on the landing points / supporting infrastructure
- bilbo0s 7y agoUm... I don't think you're thinking like a military person. I mean, if it's total war? Well, sorry, but it's total war. I wouldn't count on too many undersea cables not being cut.
- Joakal 7y agoTotal war means nukes. There will be sore losers.
- tuesdayrain 7y agoIf countries start firing nukes then I would be surprised if there were any winners.
- onlydeadheroes 7y agoYes, the humans.
- rusk 7y agoI'd have thought carbon based life in general might be worse off ...