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    The next front in U.S.-China tech battle? Underwater cables that power the global internet


    Subsea cables are the backbone of the internet, carrying 99% of the world’s data traffic.

    Serg Myshkovsky | Photodisc | Getty Images

    U.S.-Chinese tensions surrounding technology have have sunk to sea lows.

    Subsea cables hit the headlines earlier this year after four out of 15 critical submarine cables in the Red Sea were cut amid attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels on Israeli U.S., and U.K. ships.

    Public awareness of submarine cables has grown as a result — and these networks of cables are becoming a new source of strain in international relations, amid heating geopolitical engagements between the U.S. and China.

    What are subsea cables?

    Why are they important?

    A growing security risk

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    In 2021, Meta and Google announced plans to lay two huge subsea cables linking the U.S. West Coast to Singapore and Indonesia. The Echo and Bifrost trans-Pacific cables are expected to increase data capacity between the regions by 70% and improve internet reliability.

    Meta is investing in both cables, while Google is only backing Echo. Meta previously announced plans to build a 37,000-kilometer long undersea cable around Africa to provide it with better internet access, while Google is also working on a subsea cable called Equiano that aims to connect Africa with Europe.

    Citing unnamed sources in the State Department, the Wall Street Journal reported in May that U.S. officials privately warned tech firms including Google and Meta that undersea cables in the Pacific region could be vulnerable to spying by Chinese repair ships.

    S.B. Submarine Systems, a state-controlled Chinese company that helps repair international cables, appeared to be hiding its vessels’ locations from radio and satellite tracking systems, according to the WSJ.

    S.B. Submarine Systems, Google, Meta, and the State Department were not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC.

    Estonia, meanwhile, said that China was yet to respond to a six-month-old request to help the country with its investigation into a Chinese ship it suspects cut two of its subsea cables. China’s foreign ministry has since said it stands ready to work with Estonia to cooperate on the investigation.

    These developments highlight how underwater cables are becoming a source of contention in matters of national security. The data these networks send can involve high-stakes communications, including coordinating diplomatic missions, security operations and intelligence gathering.

    The U.S. government’s concerns aren’t new and have been widely documented.

    In March 2023, a Reuters report said that an interagency committee called Team Telecom was working to prevent any subsea cable from directly connecting U.S. territory with mainland China or Hong Kong due to fears about Chinese espionage.

    Many international subsea cable projects are reportedly circumventing China today due to concerns over data security and Beijing’s expanding geopolitical influence. China has invested hundreds of millions of dollars to make its own underwater cable infrastructure to rival that of the U.S.

    Central points of vulnerability



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