In March, Jonathan E. Hillman, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), published a study entitled “Securing the Subsea Network” as a “Primer for Policymakers. as a “Primer for Policymakers. Hillman is a senior fellow in the CSIS Economics Group and the director of the Reconnecting Asia Project. “The Reconnecting Asia Project is the most comprehensive open source database tracking the Communist Party’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Previously a policy advisor to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Hillman’s first book, “The Emperor‘s New Road: China and Its Plan for the Century,” was published last year by Yale University Press.
Submarine fiber optic cables, arguably the world’s information superhighway, carry more than 95 percent of international data flows. There are currently about 400 fiber optic cables in operation around the world, carrying everything from streaming video and phone calls to credit card and ATM transactions, and connecting the world’s stock exchanges. Submarine cables/fiber optic cables (Submarinecables) have been used since the 1850s as communication networks laid above the sea bed and connecting continents. The earliest submarine cable was the 1858 submarine cable across the Atlantic Ocean, used to transmit telegraph messages between North America and Europe. Later, newer cables began transmitting telegraph, telephone and data messages. Today, as the backbone of the international Internet is the submarine fiber optic cable, which uses fiber optics to transmit digital telephone and Internet messages.
When the British first laid cables on a large scale to connect the British Isles to the European continent, and to the rest of the world, they were concerned that these vital cables, if routed through areas outside the Kingdom of Great Britain, might be cut off by enemies. So the British first laid the so-called “All Red Line” (All Red Line) as a worldwide network connecting the entire empire. Moreover, the British were the first to study how to disrupt the enemy’s communication network. In World War I, the first thing Britain did after declaring war on Germany was to cut the five cables connecting Germany to France, Spain, and North America through the Azores. This forced the Germans to communicate only by radio, and these radio signals could then be tapped by the British. Submarine cables were of course first used for government affairs and military purposes, but were soon used commercially, and they certainly had great commercial value for traders and the like.
In the 1980s, fiber optic cables began to be widely used. By 2012, transatlantic fiber optic cables were capable of long term, error-free transmission at 100 Gbps for up to 6,000 km. By now, 99% of the world’s transoceanic data transmission is carried out via submarine fiber optic cables. Compared to satellite digital transmission, submarine fiber optic cables are a thousand times faster because there is no higher latency. Of course, laying a transoceanic submarine cable, the cost are in the hundreds of millions of dollars spectrum. Because of the high cost and huge use of submarine fiber optic cable, outside the private sector, governments also regard it as a strategic asset. The Australian government has even set up a special agency (ACMA) to limit the potential damage to fiber optic cables connecting Australia to the rest of the world. The U.S. military makes extensive use of fiber optic cables to transmit military information from war zones back to the U.S. mainland. During the Cold War, the U.S. Navy and the National Security Agency (NSA) had successfully added an eavesdropping device to the former Soviet Union’s submarine cables.
In the CSIS report, Hillman argues that the U.S. is no longer taking for granted its position as the leading global hub in the submarine fiber optic cable network. Because the submarine network carries virtually all voice and Internet traffic between continents, and more and more of the world’s population is online, the Chinese Communist Party is rapidly trying to seek to become the leader in submarine fiber optic cables.
The best example of the CCP’s wolfish ambition, and an indicator that the U.S. may be lagging behind in this area, is that from 2004 to 2019, the U.S. went from handling half of all Internet traffic 15 years ago to handling just under a quarter today. So Hillman hopes to provide U.S. policymakers with some systematic presentations to help advance U.S. economic and strategic goals.
The first part of Hillman’s report explains the basic functions of submarine fiber optic cables, how they are planned and the most common threats they face. The demand for these fiber optic cable systems in our world has increased dramatically, but the planning process for fiber optic cables has become increasingly challenging. The data that crosses these fiber optic cables is now protected using multiple layers of methods, including physical methods, encryption methods, redundant systems and real-Time monitoring. But even so, the security of fiber optic cables is still not fully guaranteed, and ships that fish, for example, are a major cause of fiber optic cable failures. The ultimate goal in planning a submarine network is to make it resistant to interference, while having high capacity, redundancy and flexibility. Obviously, if a hostile country, such as the Chinese Communist Party, has ulterior motives for the international fiber optic network, its security becomes even more problematic.
In the second part of his report, Hillman describes the U.S. economic and strategic interests in fiber optic cables that are being challenged from the outside. Submarine fiber optic cables can strengthen the U.S. economy by supporting well-paying jobs, increasing productivity and stimulating growth in this area. The fiber optic cable project also helps promote U.S. growth around the world, expanding and enhancing U.S. soft power, supporting democratic forces, freedom of information, and meeting government communication needs. When sudden changes occur, such as a surge in Internet traffic during an Epidemic of Chinese communist viruses (Wuhan virus, New Crown virus), the undersea fiber optic cable network allows the U.S. economy to stay on track.
The third part of the report describes three trends that point to a diminishing role for the United States in the global network. Demand for bandwidth is increasing as more people around the world go online and adopt new technologies. Demand for bandwidth is growing fastest in Asia, where China is emerging as the leading provider and owner of submarine fiber optic cables. The U.S. government is overwhelmed by regulatory hassles and delays in responding to aggressive moves by foreign governments (the Chinese Communist Party) to intrude into this area. And in the area of fiber optic cable, access to international broadband capacity for the American people has all become more difficult because of increased global demand for bandwidth and intense competition.
At the end of the report, Hillman makes recommendations to protect the U.S. central and dominant position in the submarine network. U.S. policymakers, he argues, should avoid taking an overly strict posture that would encourage large companies to take their fiber optic cables elsewhere and take their data centers and related economic activities with them. What the U.S. government can do is allow the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to improve the fiber optic cable planning process to make the risk assessment and licensing process more predictable and clear. The U.S. should also prioritize the development of advanced “zero-trust” (zero-trust) technologies, such as more advanced encryption, to allow submarine cables to continue to operate in challenging environments. The United States should also improve the foreign environment for fiber optic cables and seize the opportunities presented by developing economies.
Hillman warned that the world is no longer waiting for the U.S. to solve these problems, and that the global submarine network is developing on its own, for the benefit of other countries! Hillman specifically cited the example of Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping as an example of the Communist Party’s digital ambitions. Xi recently announced a “Digital Silk Road” that will use Beijing as “the center of a global network. Hillman argues that the United States actually has a considerable advantage in competing in this strategic area, including cutting-edge technology, world-leading companies, and a rule-of-law system. He argues that there is both realism and considerable urgency in building a resilient submarine fiber optic network.
Several of the myths that Hillman points out about submarine fiber optic cables and satellite communications are also quite interesting. People take for granted that satellite communications must transmit the most data internationally, but in fact 95 percent of that data is carried over submarine fiber optic cables. People think that sharks may be the biggest killer of submarine fiber optic cables, but in fact human ocean fishing causes two-thirds of all fiber optic cable accidents. Previously, it was thought that telecommunication companies such as American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) were the main users and builders of submarine fiber optic cables, but today Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Amazon are the biggest investors in the world’s submarine fiber optic cables.
It should be said that what Hillman’s report explores is a very urgent and real issue. The CCP’s recent plans in trying to erect an undersea fiber optic cable connecting Africa and Europe are demonstrating the latest effort by the CCP to threaten global cyber security. If the U.S. government fails to wake up to the CCP threat, and the Biden administration continues to deal with the CCP with unclear positions, unclear tactics, and a lack of strategic clarity and tactical assertiveness, Hillman’s prediction that the U.S. will lose its dominant position in this area and that our world will be infiltrated and controlled by the CCP through the Internet and global networks could become a terrifying reality.
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