Chile turned to China for an undersea cable. The U.S. said no
Chile sought China's support to build a new undersea internet cable across the Pacific, but the United States blocked the project over national security concerns, highlighting growing tensions over digital infrastructure influence in Latin America.
Background
- The article covers a diplomatic and tech-infrastructure dispute over a planned undersea fiber-optic cable connecting Chile to Asia. Chile initially chose a route via Easter Island that would land in China (Hainan), but the U.S. pressured Chile to switch to a landing in California instead, citing national security concerns over Chinese control of data traffic.
- Undersea cables carry nearly all intercontinental internet traffic. Whoever controls the landing stations can potentially intercept or monitor data, making cable routing a geopolitical issue.
- The project is driven by Chile’s desire to reduce its reliance on U.S.-based cables for connectivity to Asia. China’s Huawei Marine (now HMN Tech) was the original contractor; the U.S. sees Huawei as a security risk.
- Google is involved as a major investor in cable projects, but the article focuses on the tension between U.S. strategic interests and Chile’s sovereignty in choosing its infrastructure partners.