Internet disruptions hit Asia and Middle East after Red Sea cable cut

Several countries in Asia and the Middle East are experiencing internet service disruptions following damage to a submarine cable in the Red Sea.

International monitoring group NetBlocks reported outages and slow internet speeds in countries including India and Pakistan. Similar problems were noted in the United Arab Emirates, affecting major networks such as Etisalat and Du.

The fault has been identified near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, though the exact cause and responsible party remain unclear.

On Saturday, Microsoft announced that users of its cloud platform Azure may face slower connection speeds due to the damage to multiple fiber optic cables under the Red Sea. However, the company assured that services continue to operate by rerouting traffic through alternative pathways.

“We expect some increase in latency for traffic passing through the Middle East, but there will be no impact on users in other regions,” Microsoft said.

Azure is the world’s second-largest cloud service, trailing only Amazon Web Services (AWS). This incident has therefore raised concerns about the wider impact on global digital services.

The cable damage comes amid ongoing regional instability. Since the start of Israel’s military operations in Gaza on October 7, 2023, the Yemeni Houthi rebels have increased attacks on ships in the Red Sea, targeting over 100 vessels between November 2023 and December 2024. At least four ships have sunk and eight sailors have been killed. In July, two more ships were sunk, resulting in four fatalities.

This cable incident occurs at a time when tensions remain high over the Israel-Hamas conflict and uncertain negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme.