Re: LINX
IANAL in Maritime Law or anything other variety but I think the various comments about "defending" undersea cables connected to the UK in the postings under this title miss one or two points:
1. The Coastguard has no "fighting" capability, and anything like this would be well outside the role for which it exists. It exists for the safety of shipping and people.
2. Although taking action against anyone thought to be interfering with submarine cables might be permissible within Territorial Waters, outside that limit it would probably count as Piracy unless there were suitable International Treaties or a UN Mandate in place to provide legal cover for any such action.
The UK's ability to defend its interests might be lamentably bad but increasing its capability by a factor of "x" would be pointless without the legal basis for any operation in International Waters. Try making a simple charge of Criminal Damage stick outside the limits of UK Jurisdiction and see how far you get.
Even on land I doubt if any charge beyond Criminal Damage would be applicable if all that happened was the cutting of a cable.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
