Poor Hong Kong, which is more under the Chinese administration rather than an independent country, is now facing the heat emitted by US-China tensions. A report submitted by Team Telecom to FCC describes the insecurity of cables laid to Hong Kong directly from the US. The team wants the project to be off, citing as a threat to national security!
The underground submarine cables project, which was announced by Google z Facebook and other companies back in 2016, would give direct access between the US and Hong Kong. This is to make Hong Kong as a global data hub, that would help Google and Facebook meet their explosive bandwidth-intensive demand. While it’s truly profitable for either side, it’s not operational yet!
A Big Blow!
And the big problem is, it’s now altered by Team Telecom, a committee under the US justice department, which is now pushing FCC to block the project over security reasons. The team said, it “would expose US communications traffic to collection”. The recent unrest happening in Hong Kong over fighting for autonomy is what makes the US think of pulling this project off.
Hong Kong, still in clutches of China could have free access to snoop over US data via its new connections. This could be possible, as the Pacific Light Cable Network, the one which controls four out if six cables laid, is owned by Dr. Peng Group, the fourth largest internet provider in China. The assumption of Pacific Light Cable Network taking charge over the cable-landing station is what concerns the US.
Moreover, Dr Peng Group has previously announced that this new trans-pacific cable is a part of China’s Belt-and-Road plan, that aims to have global infrastructure influence. While this being the case from the US, the news of pulling back from a project led Hong Kong commerce department to be disappointed and say the US concerns are unground. They claim to have a robust legal system and a perfect environment for businesses.