Australia, US, Japan to fund undersea cable project in Pacific

As the Western allies aim to counter expanding Chinese influence in the region, the US, Australia, and Japan have announced that they will jointly fund the building of an undersea cable to increase internet access in three small Pacific countries.

The three Western allies announced on Tuesday that they would build a cable to connect Nauru, Kiribati, and the Federated States of Micronesia to the internet.

“As the region recovers from the catastrophic repercussions of COVID-19, this will promote higher economic growth, drive development prospects, and assist to enhance living standards,” the US, Japan, and Australia said in a joint statement.

The project’s cost is yet to be determined by the three allies.

The development of the undersea cable is the most recent financial commitment from Western friends in the Pacific’s telecommunications sector.

The United States and its Indo-Pacific allies are concerned that cables built by China could jeopardise regional security. Beijing has rejected any plans to use commercial fiber-optic cables for espionage, despite the fact that they have significantly larger data capacity than satellites.

In 2017, Australia invested over 137 million Australian dollars ($98.2 million) to improve internet connection in the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea.

Latest articles

Australia, Papua New Guinea signs new security deal

Australia has committed to training Papua New Guinea (PNG) police as part of a comprehensive security deal signed recently. PNG's Prime Minister, James Marape,...

NZ promotes decarbonisation: Electric plane to deliver mail

Parcels, mail, letters in New Zealand will soon be transported by electric aircraft, marking a shift towards decarbonization in the aviation sector. Air New...

Tokyo taxi driver runs over pigeon, arrested

In Japan, a Tokyo taxi driver, Atsushi Ozawa, 50, has been arrested on suspicion of intentionally driving into a group of pigeon, resulting in...

UK paid additional £100m to Rwanda for asylum deal

UK ministers are facing accusations of employing secretive tactics following the disclosure by a top civil servant, Sir Matthew Rycroft, that an additional £100...

Related articles