US throws weight behind new undersea internet cable to rival China in Pacific
- The Central Pacific Cable would connect American Samoa with Guam and extend to up to 12 more Pacific islands
- Undersea fibre-optic cables, which send 99 per cent of transcontinental internet traffic, have become a key arena of competition between Washington and Beijing
The United States is backing a new undersea internet cable connecting several Pacific islands, according to a plan for the project seen by Reuters, boosting Washington’s interests in a region where it is vying for influence with China.
The Central Pacific Cable would connect American Samoa with Guam – two US territories – and extend to up to 12 more Pacific islands, according to a document showing the cable route. Guam is home to a key US military base.
The new cable could 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, the plan showed.
Further funding for the project would most likely come from multilateral donors such as the World Bank and aid agencies in the US, Australia, New Zealand, the plan said.
Undersea internet cables typically take at least three to five years to be developed and installed. The proposed cable would stretch thousands of kilometres.
