‘The centre is … an important demonstration of the Quad’s delivery in the region, responding to the Indo-Pacific’s most pressing challenges,’ said Penny Wong.
Australia will build a new undersea cable centre in the Indo-Pacific to enhance the region’s digital infrastructure and counter the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) cyber security threats.
Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong, who is currently visiting Tokyo to attend the Quad foreign ministers’ meeting, announced the new investment on July 29.
The Quad (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue) is a diplomatic partnership between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States that focuses on assisting the stable development of the Indo-Pacific, which is strategically vital to the global economy.
The partnership also aims to counter the CCP’s aggressive approach to expanding its influence in the region.
According to Ms. Wong, Australia will spend $18 million (US$11.8 million) over the next four years to build a Cable Connectivity and Resilience Centre.
The centre will provide technical assistance, training, research, analysis, and information sharing between governments and industry partners across the Indo-Pacific.
Quad leaders approved the initiative at a summit in 2023.
“The Centre is an important Australian contribution to the Quad Partnership for Cable Connectivity and Resilience, which is an important demonstration of the Quad’s delivery in the region, responding to the Indo-Pacific’s most pressing challenges.”
Work on the centre is expected to start in the coming months, and the Foreign Affairs Department will begin locking in a lead contractor in August.
So far, Australia has pledged to invest $350 million in building undersea cable infrastructure in the Indo-Pacific through partnerships with East Timor, Palau, East Micronesia, Tonga, and Tuvalu.
CCP’s Cyber Threats
According to a report by the United States Study Centre, Chinese companies have become a major player in the global undersea cable sector and are developing rapidly.
“Since entering the industry in 2007, Chinese cable building firms have quickly become one of the industry’s major players, causing concern in Australia and partner countries,” it said.
“In the last two decades, Chinese companies such as HMN Tech have built or repaired a quarter of the world’s cables.
“In 2019, China’s share of the global undersea cable network was 11.4 percent, and it intends to grow this to 20 percent by 2030.”
As cable companies are compelled to provide Beijing with access to network data under CCP’s national security law, the report noted that the communist regime could conduct cyber warfare, espionage, and intellectual property theft via China-built undersea cable infrastructure.
The report revealed that the CCP allegedly conducted an operation that centred on two Pacific nations—the Marshall Islands and Nauru.
“This would—with surprising ease—allow China access to all telephone and fax transmissions between South Korea, Japan, Australia, the Philippines, Singapore, and U.S. bases all over the Pacific,” it said.
“This would give China access to critical military, economic, and financial communications.”