【Text by Observer Net, Wang Yi】Submarine optical cables, which carry more than 90% of transnational data traffic globally, have become a new field for the competition between China and the United States. As China has risen to become an important participant in the global submarine cable system, Chinese enterprises have been repeatedly targeted by the U.S. government in recent years. Now, the U.S. is directly planning to comprehensively block Chinese technology and equipment in this field. However, analysts believe that these policies are not only ineffective but also counterproductive.

The UK's Financial Times reported on July 17 that the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is preparing to introduce a new measure to prohibit any submarine communication cables containing Chinese technology or equipment from connecting to the U.S., in order to prevent so-called "Chinese espionage activities".

"Submarine cables are the unsung heroes of global communications, carrying 99% of data transmission," said Brendan Carr, chairman of the FCC. As the U.S. accelerates the construction of data centers and infrastructure for artificial intelligence and next-generation technologies, the importance of submarine cables is becoming increasingly evident.

However, Carr shifted his tone, claiming that in recent years, the U.S. submarine cable infrastructure has been threatened by foreign rivals such as China, "Therefore, we are taking action to protect our submarine cables from foreign adversaries' ownership, access, and network and physical threats," he said, adding, "President Trump long recognized that 'economic security is national security'."

The FCC mainly oversees telecommunications operators, but since 2021, the commission has repeatedly used the pretext of "threats to national security" to target Chinese companies. As the chairperson of a committee that often uses the "national security" pretext to act against China, Carr had previously planned to establish a new "National Security Committee" under the five-member commission this March to address so-called "Chinese technological threats" and help the U.S. "maintain its lead".

The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration just took office this year and issued a "America First" investment policy memorandum, explicitly stating a tougher stance on "foreign adversary investments in critical U.S. infrastructure," and the FCC's new measures are a follow-up to this memorandum. It is expected that the commission will vote on this issue on August 7.

The report pointed out that once the new regulations are passed, Chinese enterprises will be unable to obtain FCC approval to build or operate submarine communication cables connected to the U.S., nor will they be able to rent capacity on cables laid by other companies, which will directly affect China's largest submarine cable manufacturer, HMN Tech.

Submarine cables in a Chinese factory, Visual China

However, although Chinese telecom companies such as China Telecom, China Unicom, and China Mobile currently operate multiple submarine cables connecting to the U.S., the FCC's new rules only apply to future cable projects.

According to reports, at the same time, the FCC will also propose a measure next month to simplify the process for U.S. companies to apply for submarine cable permits, provided that they offer specific security assurances.

According to a report released by the U.S. think tank "Center for Strategic and International Studies" (CSIS) in April this year, 120,000 kilometers of submarine cables are responsible for over 99% of global data transmission. Their transmission rate per second is in the terabyte (TB) range, while satellites can only handle gigabytes (GB) per second (1 TB equals 1024 GB). Submarine cables almost support all aspects from business to daily life and are a key digital infrastructure that the world heavily relies on.

For decades, U.S. company SubCom, Japanese company NEC, and French company Alcatel Submarine Networks dominated the construction of submarine optical cables, until Chinese companies entered the competition in 2008. Now, the aforementioned three companies plus China's HMN Tech have manufactured and installed about 98% of the submarine cables worldwide.

As China's submarine cable development grows, U.S. politicians and Western media have started to speculate that China "conducts espionage through submarine cables" and "destroys submarine cables," using these claims to justify their actions of suppressing Chinese companies and pursuing "digital decoupling" with China.

In 2019, after the Trump administration imposed sanctions on Huawei under the pretext of "national security," Huawei was forced to sell its Huawei Ocean Network to Hongtong Optic-Electric, which later renamed it HMN Tech.

After Biden took office, he continued the policies of the Trump administration, pressuring other countries' companies not to do business with Chinese companies including HMN Tech. Reuters previously reported that from 2020 to 2023, the U.S. pressured foreign governments and companies to undermine several of China's overseas submarine cable projects.

Now, the U.S. continues to use similar slogans to restrict "Chinese and other foreign adversaries from entering the U.S. submarine cable infrastructure." Craig Singleton, a China expert at the U.S. think tank "Foundation for Defense of Democracies," claimed, "In an era where a hostile country treats critical infrastructure as a strategic weapon, allowing submarine cables to go unchecked is a strategic failure," and the FCC's new regulations mark a key step for the Trump administration toward "digital decoupling."

However, regarding the U.S. government's series of actions to weaken the influence of Chinese submarine cables, the journal "Public and International Affairs" of Princeton University believes that these actions are not only ineffective but also counterproductive. "If the U.S. encourages international cooperation and multi-company ownership, U.S. national security would be better," it said.

"Public and International Affairs" analysis pointed out that U.S. companies currently rely heavily on Chinese companies to repair damaged cables. Therefore, intentionally excluding China from cable cooperation not only requires the U.S. to invest more resources in building and maintaining its own cables, but also greatly damages the submarine infrastructure. Worldwide, there are frequently more than ten submarine cables damaged by fishing or natural disasters, and isolating Chinese suppliers would make it more difficult to quickly repair these damaged cables.

"The U.S.'s actions are undermining a global network and creating two independent and disconnected data cable regions," the article stated. "Building, repairing, and maintaining cables is an extremely complex task, and it becomes better with abundant resources, local expertise, and open communication. If the U.S. truly believes in an interconnected world, strengthening global cooperation on submarine infrastructure is an important step toward that ideal."

Regarding the U.S.'s malicious smear and obstruction of normal commercial activities of Chinese submarine cable enterprises, the Chinese Foreign Ministry previously responded that the Chinese government has always encouraged Chinese enterprises to conduct business operations according to market principles and international rules. The statements by U.S. officials have no factual basis and are completely malicious defamation of Chinese enterprises. We firmly oppose the U.S.'s practice of generalizing the concept of national security and attacking and smearing Chinese enterprises.

This article is exclusive to Observer Net. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7527887169756414518/

Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author. Please express your opinion by clicking on the 【Up/Down】 buttons below.