2026年亚运会男足抽签结果出炉，中国队进入名副其实的死亡之组，与阿联酋、伊朗、朝鲜一同被分到B组。A组：日本：泰国、吉尔吉斯斯坦、中国香港。B组：中国、阿联酋、伊朗、朝鲜。         Illustration: Liu Rui/GTA new report funded by Australia's Department of Defense played up security risks to submarine cables in the Indo-Pacific waters and pointed finger at China and some other countries over alleged undersea‑cable attacks in recent years, while claiming threats against subsea cables are growing. A Chinese expert said that accusing China without conclusive evidence constitutes "over‑securitization" made by Australian side, as well as a calculated pretext for its own military expansion.
Published by the National Security College at the Australian National University (ANU), the paper claimed recent damage to cables in the Baltic Sea and around China's Taiwan region suggests "state actors are now actively probing and testing cable infrastructure in peacetime as part of broader hybrid warfare strategies" to rapidly degrade connectivity at the outset of a conflict, The Australian reported.
The paper claimed 16 privately owned subsea cables that carry 99 percent of Australia's internet traffic are a "high priority target" for Australia's adversaries that could be severed in a conflict, threatening the nation's economy and social fabric, according to The Australian.
The report singled out China and Russia for blame, saying that there have been multiple apparent attacks on submarine cables in recent years in European waters as well as near China's Taiwan region, suspected to be linked to Russia and China, the Straits Times reported.
However, the report cites a 2025 voyage by Chinese research vessel Tan Suo Yi Hao along Australia's western and southern coastlines as evidence to back its claim that "potential adversaries are actively gathering information about Australia's cable infrastructure."
This report, relying on the routine scientific operations of a Chinese research vessel in 2025 to level allegations of offensive actions against China, and employing ambiguous terminology such as "suspected" and "potential," demonstrates Australia's evidentiary leap, Chen Hong, director of the Australian Studies Center of East China Normal University, told the Global Times on Monday.
This erroneous claim was refuted by the Chinese Foreign Ministry at the time. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on March 31, 2025 that China carries out normal activities at sea in accordance with international law, including UNCLOS. 
"We hope Australia will have a right understanding of this and stop the groundless suspicion and speculations," Guo added.
This is not the first time certain Australian politicians has leveled baseless accusations of China intending to sabotage its undersea cables. Back in May, Defense Minister Richard Marles claimed during the Shangri-La Dialogue that China ought to boost transparency around its maritime operations. He also asserted that a surge in damage to subsea cables had transformed the seabed into a "battlefield," per The Australian.
Chen said Australian side's scaremongering is tied to its predictive threat‑perception framework forged in recent years. This framework designates China and other countries as strategic competitors in advance, subsequently forces routine scientific activities into a confrontational framework, Chen said.
Apart from unfounded allegations against China, the paper claims Australia's defense military "must incorporate the defense of submarine cable infrastructure into its operational planning," according to The Australian.
It added the government should also consider up¬grading an auxiliary ship operated by the navy, ADV Guidance, to enable it to repair damaged cables.
The vast majority of submarine cable damages are caused by accidental factors such as fishing operations and vessel anchoring, rather than deliberate sabotage. For suspected cases of intentional damage, independent technical investigation bodies should be established, and the principle of "investigate first, characterize later" should be strictly applied, so as to prevent ordinary maritime accidents from escalating into diplomatic conflicts, Chen said.
The core problem of Australian side's submarine cable security lies entirely with itself. Instead of addressing its own infrastructure shortcomings and improving its domestic protection and maintenance systems, the Australian side has chosen to continually exaggerate external threats and stoke bloc confrontation, the expert added.
Chen said that by fabricating alleged Chinese threats, Australian side seeks to "rationalize" its military spending increases and underwater force expansion. The submarine digital infrastructure originally meant to serve global development has been labeled along us versus them lines, and this constitutes the biggest hidden danger, he added.
。完整分组稍后带来按亚奥理事会与日本组委会7月10日传出的消息，参加本届亚运会男足赛的队伍共有16队，以今年1月在沙特阿拉伯进行的第七届U23亚洲杯的成绩作为选拔依据，获得该届赛事决赛阶段比赛资格队伍有资格参加亚运会。不过，由于澳大利亚队因澳大利亚奥委会不是亚奥理事会成员，约旦队、叙利亚队、黎巴嫩队等先后确认无法派队参赛，因此，上届杭州亚运会第四名中国香港队、第五名朝鲜队先后被确认允许派队参赛，再加上增补的菲律宾队以及科威特队，依然有16队参赛。不过，伊拉克足协在国家队征战完世界杯后，尚未确定下一步发展计划，甚至有消息称，原伊拉克国家队主教练阿诺尔德有可能离职、而现任伊拉克国奥队主教练埃马德有可能接任，在这种情况下，伊拉克方面决定暂时放弃参加亚运会，并已正式致函亚奥理事会。因时间紧迫，亚奥理事会在与日本组委会方面协商后，决定男足赛就由剩下的15队参赛。据悉，参赛的15支球队中，尽管像中国香港队、朝鲜队是上届杭州亚运会的第四名与第五名，但组织者依然决定以2026年1月第七届U23亚洲杯决赛阶段以及预选赛阶段的比赛成绩作为分档依据，参加决赛阶段比赛的队伍排名靠前、在预选赛中未能获得决赛阶段比赛的队伍以预选赛的成绩为依据，所以，像中国香港队尽管是上届杭州亚运会的第四名，但因为在U23亚洲杯预选赛小组赛中仅仅排名小组第三位，所以排位在菲律宾队与科威特队之后；而作为第五名的朝鲜队因为没有报名参加U23亚洲杯预选赛，所以没有成绩，在15支参赛队中排位最后。15支参赛队的分档情况具体如下：第一档次(种子队)：日本队(1)、中国队(2)、越南队(3)、韩国队(4)；第二档次：乌兹别克斯坦队(5)、阿联酋队(8)、沙特队(10)、泰国队(13)；第三档次：伊朗队(14)、吉尔吉斯斯坦队(15)、卡塔尔队(16)、菲律宾队(19)；第四档次：科威特队(23)、中国香港队(34)、朝鲜队(-)；【注：队名后数字代表2026年U23亚洲杯赛最终排名，朝鲜队没有排名。】根据抽签规则，16支参赛队将分成四个小组，其中三个小组四队、一个小组三队。分组抽签时，先从第四档次队伍抽签，最后是第一档次种子队，其中东道主日本队将直接进入A1号位置。每个小组进行一轮单循环赛，以积分排定座次。每个小组的前两名出线进入淘汰赛。