By Shadow Pine
In a bold move to bolster digital resilience, Malaysia has embarked on a transformative initiative to lay fibre optic cables along its 1,600-kilometer North-South railway corridor, stretching from Padang Besar in the north to Johor Bahru in the south, and extending to Tumpat in Kelantan.
This ambitious project, starting with selection of YTL Communications Sdn Bhd, marks a strategic shift to diversify Malaysia’s connectivity infrastructure amid growing geopolitical tensions in the South China Sea, where undersea cables, critical arteries of global internet traffic, are increasingly vulnerable to disruption. By leveraging land based / terrestrial networks, Malaysia, and potentially other ASEAN nations, are crafting an alternative digital backbone to counter threats to undersea cables, drawing parallels to Russia’s interference with Western infrastructure in Ukraine and beyond.
The South China Sea: A Digital Battleground
The South China Sea is a geopolitical flashpoint, not only for its maritime trade routes but also for the dense web of undersea fibre optic cables that carry over 95% of international internet traffic. These cables connect Malaysia, ASEAN, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and the Pacific towards the Americas, forming the backbone of digital economies. However, China’s expansive territorial claims in the region, coupled with its growing military assertiveness, have raised alarms about the security of this critical infrastructure.
Reports of Chinese military vessels harassing repair crews during cable maintenance operations have intensified concerns. For instance, incidents involving Chinese ships near Taiwan’s Matsu Islands in 2023, where cables were severed, left 14,000 residents disconnected for weeks, with suspicions of deliberate sabotage, lingering despite Beijing’s denials.
While definitive evidence of China intentionally cutting cables remains elusive, the possibility cannot be dismissed. The South China Sea’s contested waters complicate repair efforts, as claimant states, including China, often delay permits for maintenance vessels, exacerbating downtime. This mirrors tactics seen in Russia’s interference with undersea infrastructure in the Baltic Sea, where cable cuts in 2024 were linked to Russian proxies, though proving sabotage has proven legally challenging. Both cases highlight a growing trend of “grey zone” tactics, deniable acts that disrupt critical infrastructure without escalating to outright conflict.
For Malaysia, heavily reliant on undersea cables for its digital economy (with peak internet bandwidth demand hitting 1.9 terabits per second in 2022), such vulnerabilities are a clarion call for action.
Fibre Optic Project: A Land Based Alternative
Enter Malaysia’s North-South railway corridor fibre optic initiative. Announced on April 18, 2025, the project sees YTL Communications tasked with deploying fibre optic infrastructure along 1,600 kilometers of railway tracks, a network managed by the Railway Asset Corporation (RAC). Selected through a competitive request-for-proposal process for offering the highest returns to RAC, YTL’s role is not exclusive. Transport Minister Anthony Loke emphasized that other telecommunications providers could join in the future, ensuring a non-monopolistic approach to enhance digital reach and infrastructure resilience.
This terrestrial network is a masterstroke in diversification. Unlike undersea cables, which are susceptible to sabotage, environmental hazards, and geopolitical wrangling, land-based fibre optic cables along existing railway corridors offer a more secure and controlled alternative.
Railways provide pre-existing rights-of-way, minimizing environmental disruption and bypassing the need for extensive new land acquisition or environmental impact assessments. The initiative also generates revenue for reinvestment into railway infrastructure, such as station upgrades and new railway vehicles, creating a cycle of physical and digital growth.
ASEAN’s Regional Resilience Play
Malaysia’s move is not just a national strategy but a blueprint for ASEAN. The region, a critical node in the global web of undersea cables, faces shared vulnerabilities. Singapore, for instance, hosts nearly 40 undersea cables, while Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines are emerging as key connection points. Yet, incidents like Vietnam’s 2022-2023 cable outages, which impaired its data flow, underscore the fragility of relying solely on subsea infrastructure. By developing terrestrial networks, ASEAN nations could create a regional mesh of fibre optic cables, linking countries overland to reduce dependence on contested maritime routes.
This approach aligns with ASEAN’s broader digital ambitions. In 2019, ASEAN released Guidelines for Strengthening Resilience and Repair of Submarine Cables, and in 2024, the ASEAN Digital Ministers’ Meeting committed to building a “secure, diverse, and resilient submarine cable network.” Extending this vision to terrestrial networks could enhance interoperability, streamline regulations, and foster public-private partnerships. Malaysia’s railway fibre project, with its open-access model for multiple telecom providers, is a model of resilience, inspiring neighbors like Thailand, Indonesia and others to leverage their own railway or highway corridors to create a ASEAN wide terrestrial network.
Echoes of Russia’s Grey Zone Tactics
The strategic rationale for Malaysia’s terrestrial pivot draws a chilling parallel to Russia’s disruption of Western infrastructure. In the Baltic Sea, incidents like the 2024 cable cuts, allegedly involving a Chinese ship “under orders from Russia,” highlight how state actors use proxies to sow chaos without triggering outright conflict. Finland’s intelligence service warned that Russia’s resources, freed up post-Ukraine, could fuel further sabotage in Europe. Similarly, China’s “grey zone” tactics in the South China Sea, such as deploying fishing vessels or sand-dredgers that “accidentally” damage cables, create plausible deniability while exerting pressure on smaller nations.
For ASEAN, the lesson is clear: un-mitigated reliance on undersea cables is a strategic liability in an era of hybrid warfare. Malaysia’s enhancement of railway fibre network is a proactive step to insulate its digital economy from external coercion.
A Forward-Looking Vision
Malaysia’s fibre optic project along the North-South railway corridor is more than an infrastructure upgrade; it’s a geopolitical statement. By diversifying away from vulnerable undersea cables, Malaysia is safeguarding its digital sovereignty against the backdrop of South China Sea tensions. YTL Communications, is poised to support this transformation as an existing railway infrastructure player, but the project’s open-access model ensures long-term resilience through competition and collaboration.
For ASEAN, this initiative has sparked a regional renaissance in terrestrial connectivity, creating a robust alternative network that complements subsea cables. As China’s military shadow looms over the South China Sea, Malaysia’s strategic foresight positions it as a digital trailblazer in a region at the crossroads of geopolitics and technology. The tracks are laid, the cables are coming, and a more resilient ASEAN digital future is on the horizon.
Shadow Pine is an independent investigative journalist dedicated to uncovering hidden truths, especially in high-stakes and controversial matters. Operating discreetly to protect sources and maintain integrity, Shadow Pine focuses on stories that others might shy away from, aiming to bring clarity and accountability to the forefront for the well being of the nation.
The views expressed here are that of the author’s and not necessarily of the Weekly Echo’s.