Global Courant
Japan has joined Australia and the United States in a submarine cable project that will connect island nations in eastern Micronesia. The $95 million project aims to counter China’s efforts to increase its influence in the Indo-Pacific region. The approximately 2400 km long underwater Oceanic cable is expected to be completed in 2025.
Japan announced Tuesday that it has joined the United States and Australia in signing a $95 million submarine cable project that will connect island states in eastern Micronesia to improve networks in the Indo-Pacific region, where China is influence continues to expand.
The approximately 1,400-mile submarine cable will connect the state of Kosrae in the Federated States of Micronesia, Tarawa in Kiribati and Nauru to the existing cable landing point at Pohnpei in Micronesia, according to Japan’s foreign ministry.
Japan, the United States and Australia have stepped up cooperation with the Pacific Islands, apparently to counter Beijing’s attempts to expand its security and economic influence in the region.
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From left to right, US President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hold a meeting on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Japan on May 20, 2023. Japan announced that it has joined the United States and Australia in signing a $95 million submarine cable project. (Jonathan Ernst/Pool Photo via AP, File)
In a joint statement, the parties said that the next steps include a final examination and design and manufacture of the cable, the width of which is approximately that of a garden hose. Delivery is expected around 2025.
The announcement comes just over two weeks after the leaders of the Quad, a security alliance of Japan, the United States, Australia and India, stressed the importance of submarine cables as a critical part of communications infrastructure and the foundation for Internet connectivity.
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“Secure and resilient digital connectivity has never been more important,” Matthew Murray, a senior official in the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said in a statement. “The United States is excited to be part of this project that brings our region closer together.”
NEC Corp., which won the contract following a public tender, said the cable will provide fast, high-quality and safer communications for residents, businesses and governments in the region, while contributing to improved digital connectivity and economic development.
The cable will connect more than 100,000 people in the three Pacific countries, according to Kazuya Endo, director general of the International Cooperation Office of Japan’s Foreign Ministry.
