On the EJIL:Talk! blog, Natascha Gojkovic, university assistant at the Department for International Law and International Relations, examines the protective mechanisms of the Law of the Sea Convention for submarine cables in the exclusive economic zone.
The blog post shows that, unlike in the case of artificial islands, installations, and structures, Article 60 of the UNCLOS does not apply to cables, and highlights how states such as Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, and Japan have so far attempted to close this gap through national protection zones. In conclusion, he advocates for an analogous application of Article 60 of the UNCLOS to resolve the resulting legal uncertainty at the level of international law.
The article can be accessed here.