LIVE MARKETS-China's threat to undersea cables
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CHINA’S THREAT TO UNDERSEA CABLES
With geopolitical risks high on investors' radar, communication cables have emerged as a key vulnerability, particularly amid concerns about a potential escalation in tensions between China and Taiwan.
Washington has been raising alarm about the network of more than 400 subsea cables that handle 99% of international internet traffic and about threats from China and Russia.
“China is rapidly building capabilities to disrupt undersea cables,” according to a report of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC), which is known for its hawkish policy proposals.
USCC explains that China is exploiting “military-civil fusion” to develop a range of dual-use technologies to enhance its ability “to access and target undersea cables, with both legitimate civilian uses and potential offensive military capabilities.”
“Cables connecting the United States with Taiwan, Japan and the Philippines -- often crossing shallow waters, busy shipping lanes and contested waters -- are among some of the most vulnerable in the trans-Pacific network,” USCC says.
“China is exploiting ‘military-civil fusion’ to develop a range of dual-use technologies to enhance its ability to access and target undersea cables, with both legitimate civilian uses and potential offensive military capabilities,” it adds.
“Simultaneous disruption of multiple cables could overwhelm trans-Pacific capacity.”
(Stefano Rebaudo)
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