He's a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution's Center for Security Strategy and Technology. NICOLE STAROSIELSKI: It's great to be here.ĬHAKRABARTI: Also with us is Joseph Keller. She's author of the book The Undersea Network. She is a professor of media culture and communication at New York University and an expert in undersea fiber optic cables. the world? Well, Nicole Starosielski joins us. So how should we best understand the rising tensions over China's new undersea fiber optic cables, not just from the U.S. Now, as some have put it, there's a war under the waves.
It's a race for silicon chips, rare earth minerals, 5G technology, artificial intelligence, space exploration, navies and air forces, consumer products and cultural influence. and China are already deep into a power struggle that will define the future. It can potentially break the architecture of the Internet.ĬHAKRABARTI: The U.S. But there are many risks associated with taking a nationalistic view to technology. This is Emily Taylor of Oxford Information Labs.ĮMILY TAYLOR: You don't take unnecessary risks. Despite the risks feared by the United States. So it's clear that Huawei has a pattern of behavior that shows data being moved to China.ĬHAKRABARTI: However, you won't hear such bellicose talk from Europe because France and Germany have already said they will not isolate China or diplomatically disparage Beijing. We've also seen, for instance, what happened with the African Union. ROBERT SPALDING: In Canada, for example, we've seen data be rerouted to China. Robert Spalding of the Hudson Institute told Bloomberg News that's a cause for concern. So do we really think for a second that they would not do the same with undersea cables? I'm not going to be fooled into thinking that.ĬHAKRABARTI: The Chinese cable counted telecom giant Huawei Technologies as one of its shareholders. They try to make these capabilities fit their own nefarious ends. They weaponize every bit of social media that they can. Think things like voice communications, data, internet, trillions of daily international financial transactions, things that you don't want China getting a hold of. The communist government have started investing heavily in owning and supplying subsea cables. Here's Republican Congressman Brian Mast of Florida in March, speaking about the bipartisan undersea cable Control Act which passed the House.īRIAN MAST: Chinese companies heavily subsidize, of course, by the PRC. It's a $500 million undersea fiber optic cable that would link Asia, the Middle East and Europe, and it snapped the United States to attention. American firms have dominated the cable laying business since the start.īut now China is entering the scene with one of the world's most advanced and far-reaching subsea cable networks. MEGHNA CHAKRABARTI: The Internet's true circulatory system lies deep underwater, nearly 900,000 miles of fiber optic cables snake across ocean floors, transporting the world's information, financial transactions, military and diplomatic traffic. Steve Arsenault, director of Global Subsea Solutions for IT Telecom. Rick Chislett, former manager of splicing and testing for IT Telecom.
Joseph Keller, visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology. Nicole Starosielski, professor of media, culture and communication at New York University. (Submarine Cable Map courtesy of TeleGeography) Guests View: An interactive map of a submarine cable systemĬlick the image below for a closer look at a submarine cable map. Today, On Point: The new battle over undersea cables. have now become a weapon of war in this new Cold War between China and the U.S.," Reuters reporter Joe Brock says. Now, those submarine cable systems are at the forefront of a new rivalry between China and the U.S. Thousands of miles of fiber optic cable lying at the bottom of the world’s oceans carry more than 95% of the world’s data, from phone calls and emails to encrypted military secrets. Sign up for the On Point newsletter here. Facebook Email (Interactive Submarine Cable Map courtesy of TeleGeography)
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