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The US Federal Communications Commission is poised to introduce a ban on companies that use certain Chinese technology and equipment from building submarine communication cables that connect to America.
The US telecoms regulator will next month vote on a new rule aimed at tackling potential Chinese espionage by ensuring new cables that land in the US are less vulnerable to threats from Beijing and other adversaries.
“Submarine cables are the unsung heroes of global communications, carrying 99 per cent of all internet traffic,” FCC chair Brendan Carr told the Financial Times.
“We have seen submarine cable infrastructure threatened in recent years by foreign adversaries, like China. We are therefore taking action here to guard our submarine cables against foreign adversary ownership and access as well as cyber and physical threats.”
The measure will affect Chinese companies that are already included on a list of groups that the FCC views as posing a national security threat to the US.
It will have an impact on Huawei, the Chinese telecoms company that supplies some of the equipment for submarine cables. Huawei previously sold a subsidiary that was the largest Chinese submarine cable manufacturer, but the US government remains concerned about the group, called HMN Tech.
The US has accused Huawei of conducting espionage on behalf of Beijing. China has rejected the accusations.
The FCC will also vote on a proposed rule — that would be approved at a later date — that would impact all Chinese equipment and technology.
Carr said submarine cables were increasingly critical as the US builds data centres and infrastructure for artificial intelligence and next-generational technologies. “President [Donald] Trump has long recognised ‘economic security is national security’,” he added.
Carr, the Republican chair, and two Democrats serving on the normally five-member commission, are expected to approve the rule on August 7. Carr has stepped up scrutiny of China at the agency and created a dedicated national security unit to focus on threats from Beijing.
The decision to push the new rule was partly influenced by a massive Chinese ongoing attack on US telecoms networks called Salt Typhoon that the US is struggling to tackle because of the cost of replacing vulnerable systems.
Once the measure has been adopted, groups using restricted Chinese technology will be unable to secure FCC licenses to build or operate cables that connect to the US. They will also be banned from leasing capacity on cables laid by other companies.
China Telecom, China Unicom and China Mobile all own or operate cables that connect to the US. But the rule will only apply to licenses for future cables.
One FCC official said: “China and other foreign adversaries pose a major threat to submarine cables when it comes to physical security, cyber security and data access. It’s a no-brainer to limit foreign adversaries’ access to US submarine cable infrastructure.”
The rule follows on from the “America First Investment Policy” memo Trump issued in January to take a tougher stance on US adversaries.
Bryan Burack, an Asia security expert at The Heritage Foundation think-tank, said the America First Investment Policy “endorses decoupling from foreign adversary investments in US critical infrastructure”.
Craig Singleton, a China security expert at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the US was taking a harder look at “who controls the digital arteries of the global economy” because of concern over China and other US adversaries.
“In an era when hostile powers treat critical infrastructure as a strategic weapon, leaving submarine cables unchecked would be strategic malpractice,” Singleton said. “This rule is a clear step towards digital decoupling where it matters most — beneath the surface.”
The FCC will next month propose another measure to simplify the license process for US cable companies — including Google, Meta, Microsoft and Amazon — once they have provided certain security-related guarantees.
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