LETTERS – OCT & NOV 2025
Red Sea Cable Disruptions Highlight Global Digital Fragility
Tanya Vatsa’s article, “The silent war front from barrels to bytes”, was a stark reminder of how undersea cables have become the soft underbelly of the global digital economy.
Recent disruptions in the Red Sea exposed how strategic vulnerabilities in data infrastructure can ripple across continents, paralysing e-commerce and financial transactions from India to Europe. While accidental damage remains plausible, the timing and recurrence of these incidents strongly suggest the geopolitical weaponisation of infrastructure.
The international community cannot afford complacency. Governments and corporations must invest urgently in redundancy, rapid repairs, and diplomatic frameworks to safeguard these invisible lifelines. Protecting submarine cables is no longer just a technical or commercial concern – it is a matter of national and global security. Failure to act decisively may leave societies exposed to economic and political chaos at a moment’s notice.
Aarav Das
Mumbai, India
A New Multipolar Financial Order: Hopes and Hazards
Dear Editor,
The insightful analysis, New currency cold war,raised vital questions about the global push to de-dollarise. The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the BRICS bloc championing rupee and yuan settlements signal a profound shift, but, as your article notes, these parallel mechanisms carry their own risks.
While moving away from the dollar mayreduce Western leverage on developing economies, it introduces fresh uncertainties. Can alternative systems safeguard against volatility, digital fraud, and inequitable influence – especially given China’s outsized economic power?
India’s cautious, incremental approach to transacting with Africa and the Global South seems wise, but the need for robust multilateral regulations cannot be overstated, Y S Gill rightly argues.
As a business student, I believe voices from Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia must shape the rules of tomorrow’s financial landscape, lest today’s cure become tomorrow’s new dependency.
Fatima Noor
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
AI and Democracy: Peril and Promise
Dear Sir,
Your coverage of the Democracy Forum’s recent debate on artificial intelligence and democracy was both timely and thought-provoking. Dr Ann Kristin Glenster’s concerns about “deep fake” disinformation, and Dr Steven Feldstein’s warnings on AI-enabled government overreach, underline the existential risks of unchecked technological growth.
Yet, as Mr Han suggested, AI also offers opportunities to strengthen democratic processes through better information dissemination and citizen engagement. The dilemma is clear: how do policymakers strike a balance between harnessing technology’s benefits and curbing its abuses?
The European Union’s risk-based framework is a start, but more inclusive global standards are required. Civil society, academia, and the tech industry must work in concert to protect public trust—no democracy can survive if reality itself becomes unverifiable.I urge your readers to watch the webinar at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hm1Fo89IkUw&t=4s
Dr Helen Wijeratne
London, UK
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