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PNG says Google to build three subsea cables funded by

Australia

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PNG minister says cable project funded under military

treaty

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Australia says cables have consumer benefit, boost

education

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History of cable rivalry between China and Australia, US

By Kirsty Needham

SYDNEY, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Alphabet's Google

will build three subsea cables in Papua New Guinea, which the

largest Pacific Island nation said was funded by Australia under

a mutual defence treaty, in a key upgrade to its digital

backbone.

Australian and U.S. military strategists view resource-rich

but largely under-developed Papua New Guinea as having a prized

location north of Australia at a time when China is boosting its

influence in the region.

The $120-million effort will link northern and southern

Papua New Guinea and the Bougainville autonomous region with

high-capacity cables, Peter Tsiamalili, PNG's acting minister

for information and communications technology, said on Friday.

PNG SAYS PROJECT FUNDED BY PUKPUK TREATY

"The entire investment (is) funded through Australia's

commitments under the Pukpuk Treaty," he said in a statement,

referring to a mutual defence pact signed in October.

The project reflected both nations' shared commitment to

advance digital security, regional stability, and national

development, he added.

The subsea cables will be built by Google, the statement

said, adding that Tsiamalili met Australian and U.S. diplomats

to discuss the project at Google's Australian office this week.

A Google Australia spokeswoman declined to comment on the

PNG project.

Australia's foreign affairs department said on Saturday the

cables will lower internet prices for consumers, support

economic growth and increase education opportunities.

The cables will position PNG to attract investment from

hyper-scalers and global digital enterprises, said Tsiamalili,

who is also police minister.

The Pukpuk Treaty gives Australian defence personnel access

to PNG communications systems, including satellite stations and

cables. The United States is also strengthening military ties

with PNG, signing a defence cooperation pact in 2023.

AUSTRALIA, U.S. SEEK TO COUNTER CHINA'S INFLUENCE

Australia and the United States have funded various subsea

cables across the Pacific Islands in recent years to block a

push by China to build the vital communication links, viewed by

Canberra as a security risk.

PNG's domestic submarine cable was built by China's Huawei

in 2018 and financed by a loan from China's EXIM bank.

"Australia has committed over A$450 million ($300 million)

to support undersea cable connectivity across the Pacific and

Timor-Leste, including the Coral Sea Cable between Papua New

Guinea, Solomon Islands and Australia," an Australian foreign

affairs official said in a statement to Reuters on Saturday.

Australia is expected to also finance a new international

cable to PNG.

Google said last month it planned to build a data hub on

Australia's Indian Ocean outpost of Christmas Island, another

strategic defence location, with new cables linking the island

with Australian cities hosting key defence bases also used by

the U.S. military.

Two more cable systems will extend westwards to Africa and

Asia, to "deepen the resilience" of Indian Ocean internet

infrastructure, Google said.

($1 = 1.5033 Australian dollars)