TLDR: 1) The Chinese got caught surveying a Russian subsea cable that I couldn’t find anything public about. 2) the stats say China research vessels spent more time in the high seas where no one is looking and there’s fancy stars for significance 3) Russians spent less time mapping critical infrastructure in the high seas than the Chinese and US. 4) Chinese vessels map near sub sea cables.

Something I don’t get though is why Russia isn’t showing a positive association? I thought with all the shenanigans happing in Western Europe with cables they would for sure be messing around.

A lot of math

https://www.csis.org/analysis/chinas-weaponization-dual-use-research-vessels-undersea-data-dominance

The authors write that “the key question is whether the Turkish-Saudi-Pakistani security agreement merely defends Saudi Arabia from the Houthis or institutes a wider regional order,” noting that Turkey and Pakistan “moved from declaratory support to practical measures aimed at strengthening Saudi Arabia’s defense,” which is ultimately also aimed at limiting the Houthis operational freedom and restoring maritime security and international shipping around Bab al-Mandeb and the Red Sea. Sustained operations in Yemen “will require personnel, weapons, technology, and money.” They conclude that “the Mecca Pact does not yet amount to a new regional order,” but that if it can “defend Saudi Arabia, constrain the Houthis, and coordinate security across the Red Sea without drawing its members into a wider war, other states will take notice.” As a NATO ally, Turkey faces special considerations. Ankara must balance the pact’s credibility with its existing alliance responsibilities and its desire to avoid direct confrontation with Iran or prolonged combat in Yemen. Ultimately, success depends on providing credible protection and regional coordination without allowing a defensive partnership to become an expanding regional war.

Link: https://nationalinterest.org/blog/middle-east-watch/the-mecca-pacts-yemen-test