Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to recommendation 36 of the 2025 Strategic Defence Review, what progress he has made in enabling the Royal Navy to play a leading and coordinating role in securing the UK’s critical undersea infrastructure and maritime traffic.

As part of working with other government departments and commercial partners, the Royal Navy is working closely with the Cabinet Office, DSIT, DESNZ, DfT, the Joint Maritime Security Centre (JMSC), industry partners and international allies to strengthen the security and resilience of the UK's undersea infrastructure.

Alongside the continued work with JEF, NATO and international partners to track potential threats, further efforts are focused on clarifying departmental responsibilities, enhancing maritime domain awareness and intelligence sharing, improving cross-Whitehall coordination and developing advanced surveillance and response capabilities through initiatives such as Atlantic Bastion. Within this framework, the Royal Navy is emerging as the lead operational authority for countering state-based threats to UK undersea infrastructure, while supporting wider government and commercial partners responsible for regulation, resilience and recovery.