SYDNEY - U.S. submarine cable company SubCom said on Thursday it would lay an internet link from Australia to Hong Kong through Papua New Guinea, deepening its involvement in a region where China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd has sought to expand.
The SubCom cable would likely stifle any commercial case for future Huawei cables in the region, according to Jonathan Pryke, director of Pacific Islands research at Sydney-based think-tank the Lowy Institute. SubCom said it was commissioned to build the $380 million line by H2 Cable, a privately-owned Singapore-based firm, in a joint statement. It is due for completion in 2022 and also includes a possible trans-Pacific branch to Los Angeles.
In the South Pacific, where they are sorely needed to improve expensive and slow satellite internet connections, cable construction has proven a flashpoint between China and Western powers seeking to contain its growing influence there.