The US fears that underwater fiber optic cables are vulnerable to suspected spying by Chinese repair ships, the Wall Street Journal reports. “U.S. officials are privately issuing an unusual warning to telecommunications companies: Undersea cables that carry Internet traffic across the Pacific Ocean may be vulnerable to manipulation by Chinese repair ships,” the report said.
It is noted that the largest American corporations, such as Google and Meta Platforms, partially own a large number of cables, but rely on construction and repair companies, some of which have foreign owners. Officials fear that such a situation could threaten the security of commercial and military data.
According to State Department officials, the Chinese company S.B. Submarine Systems, which repairs international cables, claims it hides the location of its ships from radio and satellite tracking. According to the Fu Hai newspaper, the Fu Tai and Bold Maverick, operating off the coast of Taiwan, Indonesia and other coastal areas of Asia, are said to periodically disappear from the charts of ship tracking services, sometimes for several days, which is “unreasonable explanation."
China has repeatedly rejected accusations of espionage, calling for an end to the spread of false information.