China’s snooping around Pacific undersea cables raises risks for Big Tech

Critical undersea internet cables face increased risk of sabotage, potentially disrupting cloud services and financial trading.

A new report from the China Strategic Risks Institute, commissioned by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, highlights significant risks to trans-Pacific undersea cables. US-owned cables, including those from Google, Meta, and Verizon, face elevated threats from sabotage and "gray zone" tactics, particularly in the waters around Taiwan, Japan, and the Philippines. The report identifies these cables as being in shallow, high-traffic areas, and some connect directly to geopolitically sensitive regions like Taiwan. Chinese research vessels have been observed spending extensive time surveying these undersea cable routes. The report warns that disruption to these cables could overwhelm existing capacity, forcing data onto slower routes and impacting cloud services, financial trading, and overall communications between the US and the Indo-Pacific region. Similar concerns have been raised about Russian and Chinese activities in the Baltic Sea and Iran's threats in the Strait of Hormuz.

This report signals an escalating geopolitical vulnerability for global internet infrastructure, moving beyond accidental damage to intentional disruption. The extensive surveying by Chinese research vessels, coupled with past incidents involving commercial ships, suggests a coordinated strategy to target communication backbones. Big Tech companies with substantial stakes in these trans-Pacific links may need to invest in enhanced monitoring and physical security measures for their subsea assets.

The implications extend to national security and economic stability, as any significant disruption could cripple data flow between continents. The report's focus on "gray zone" tactics underscores a broader trend of state-sponsored hybrid warfare, where critical infrastructure becomes a prime target without overt military action. Investors and governments will likely reassess risk premiums associated with subsea cable investments and potentially increase demand for redundant, geographically diverse network routes.