Subsea Cables & Internet Infrastructure

This new subsea cable perfectly illustrates how these undersea digital highways have become instruments of political power and foreign policy. The Chinese government is lending the Cambodian government the money required to build a subsea cable that China Uncom will operate for Cambodia and which Hauwei Marine will undoubtedly build. Since it goes to Hong Kong China will probably tap the cable and record the bits traversing it. Now encryption protects the data payload, but not the header routing information. So the IP addresses can be captured and much can be deduced from them. Unfortunately, few details are available regarding the new network. The Chinese government clearly wants to be able to monitor and capture the region's data flows so subsidizing cables to land in China and to be built by Hauwei is in their eyes is simply prudent national security policy.