A Chinese research vessel tested a device that can slice submarine data cables at depths over 3,500 meters. The electro-hydrostatic actuator drives a diamond-coated grinding wheel capable of cutting armored cables, marking another dual-use deep-sea technology. This comes amid rising concerns over suspected global sabotage of undersea communication and power lines.

• China tested a device from the ship Haiyang Dizhi 2 that can cut armored submarine cables at depths of 3,500 meters.
• The cutter uses an electro-hydrostatic actuator to spin a diamond-coated grinding wheel through steel, rubber, and polymer layers, and is small enough to mount on standard ROVs.
• The design stems from a 2025 Mechanical Engineer paper tied to Chinese state research institutions, alongside existing PLA navy patents for cable-cutting/retrieval tools and a separate towed-cutter proposal from Lishui University.
• Chinese vessels have repeatedly been spotted near damaged undersea cables and pipelines from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific, fueling concern this tech enables hard-to-detect sabotage under cover of scientific or commercial missions.