The Foreign Minister has urged for “coordinated responses” across regions and institutions to safeguard critical undersea infrastructure.
Ian Borg said this issue is of “paramount importance” to Malta’s national security.
“Recent incidents have highlighted the vulnerability of cables, pipelines, and seabed assets, and the potentially severe consequences of disruption. Protecting these assets is not solely a national responsibility. It requires shared awareness, early warning, and coordinated responses across regions and institutions.”
He was addressing the first Global Forum of Maritime Fusion Centres Heads of Centre Meeting in Malta, a collaboration between the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Valletta-based Global Centre for Maritime Sanctions Monitoring.
The two-day meeting is bringing together the heads of maritime fusion centres from across the world, to share best practices and explore solutions to pressing maritime security challenges, including sanctions evasion, illicit trafficking, dark shipping and risks to critical undersea infrastructure.
In his speech on Tuesday, Borg reaffirmed Malta’s “strong commitment” to supporting international efforts that strengthen maritime security and uphold UN sanctions, as it continues to “encourage regional and international cooperation, innovation and shared responsibility towards effective maritime governance.”
Borg noted that this meeting reconfirms the critical role of maritime security in building peace, safeguarding economic stability and strengthening the rules-based international order.
“As an island nation, Malta is acutely aware of the strategic importance of the sea. Our security and prosperity depend on effective maritime governance. This is why we have consistently invested in maritime domain awareness, sanctions enforcement, and multilateral cooperation,” he said.
