28-9-2023 (SINGAPORE) The United States is set to support the development of a new undersea internet cable that will connect multiple Pacific islands, in a move aimed at strengthening American influence in the region vis-à-vis China. According to a plan seen by Reuters, the Central Pacific Cable will link American Samoa and Guam – both US territories – and potentially extend to 12 additional Pacific islands. Guam, home to a key US military base, holds strategic importance for Washington.
Paul McCann and John Hibbard, experienced subsea cable consultants, presented details of the cable route at an industry conference in Singapore. A feasibility study for the project is being conducted by APTelecom, a US-based telecommunications consultancy. However, all parties involved, including APTelecom, Hibbard, and McCann, declined to comment on the matter.
The proposed cable has the potential to connect the US territories with Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tuvalu, Fiji, Nauru, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Cook Islands, Wallis and Futuna, and the Federated States of Micronesia, as indicated by the plan. The plan further revealed that additional funding for the project is likely to come from multilateral donors such as the World Bank, as well as aid agencies in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand.
Developing and installing undersea internet cables typically takes three to five years. The planned cable would span thousands of kilometers. In a White House fact sheet released after a meeting between President Joe Biden and Pacific Island leaders, it was confirmed that the US Trade and Development Agency would provide US$3 million for a feasibility study on the cable. However, the statement did not disclose the countries involved in the project.
The USTDA stated on its Facebook page that this cable would be the first to connect Tuvalu, a small nation with approximately 11,000 inhabitants. Undersea fiber-optic cables, responsible for transmitting 99% of transcontinental internet traffic, have become a significant focal point of competition between the United States and China, as highlighted in a Reuters investigation earlier this year.
The Pacific islands, which form a large arc north of US ally Australia, hold strategic importance for US naval operations and possess valuable mineral and fisheries resources. These island nations have vulnerable internet infrastructure. Tonga, for example, experienced a month-long disruption of global telecommunications networks last year after an undersea cable was severed due to a volcanic eruption and tsunami.
Last year, the Biden administration pledged to assist Pacific island nations in countering China’s “economic coercion.” Concerns regarding regional militarization arose when Beijing signed a security agreement with the Solomon Islands. Two years ago, Washington intervened to prevent a Chinese company from constructing another subsea internet cable in the Pacific islands, as reported by Reuters at the time.
Earlier this year, the United States, Australia, and Japan agreed to finance and revive the East Micronesia Cable project, connecting the island nations of Nauru, Kiribati, and Micronesia.
