Geopolitics at the bottom of the sea: How China wants to challenge the American submarine cable empire
Deep in the oceans, critical infrastructure silently sustains modern digital life. Undersea cables are the backbone through which we can send messages and information between continents: 95% of the world's data passes through them. When they fail, the consequences can be catastrophic: in March 2024, several African countries will be affected by the tsunami. they stayed Without internet due to a problem with a submarine cable. In recent months, damaged cables have appeared in geopolitical hot spots like the Baltic Sea and the Taiwan Strait. China recently unveiled a device for cutting cables at shallow depths, which can be used for both repairs and sabotage.
However, the public debate about submarine cable cuts obscures an even more important question: who controls these cables—and the information and data that flow within them? Until recently, the United States, France, and Japan controlled 87% of the submarine cable market. However, China is advancing as an alternative player in the American-led bloc.Although China's HMN only controls 11% of the market, it has supplied 18% of the cables over the past four years, offering 20-30% lower prices and being the fastest-growing company in the sector worldwide. Chinese companies are expected to contribute 45% of the installed cables from 2023 to 2028, amid high demand for more cables to address the increased data exchange through digital services such as platforms, streaming, and AI.
China wants to create its own submarine cable system to protect itself from the Americans. With the NSA spying revelations of 2013, the Chinese were on alert after discovering how the Americans had been using their dominance of the world's digital infrastructure—including undersea cables—to spy on allies and adversaries. In one moment of confrontation with the United StatesChina wants to reduce the risk of Washington using these cables as a weapon of coercion and espionage against it. The United States also fears that Beijing will do the same: have banned that any submarine cable coming from China or Hong Kong connects to US territory. In one a time when rivalries and wars are largely waged through data, information and intelligenceHaving control over critical digital infrastructure is a basic defensive protection. It's also a geopolitical weapon.
Until recently, the United States and its allies held a near-monopoly on the world's submarine cables. China wants to break that dominance: the strongest growth of Chinese cables is regional, especially with Southeast Asia. But they have also begun projects with the Middle East and Europe. Sabotage of submarine cables is a legitimate short-term concern. On a structural level, the key question will be whether the Chinese can challenge American hegemony in the depths of the sea.
