World Bank-backed Pacific undersea cable project ditched after US warned Chinese firms posed security threat
- The East Micronesia Cable system was designed to improve communications in the island nations of Nauru, Kiribati and Federated States of Micronesia
- The project reached a stalemate due to security concerns raised within the island nations over Huawei-linked HMN Tech’s bid
A World Bank-led project declined to award a contract to lay sensitive undersea communications cables after Pacific island governments heeded US warnings that participation of a Chinese company posed a security threat, two sources told Reuters.
The East Micronesia Cable system was designed to improve communications in the island nations of Nauru, Kiribati and Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), by providing underwater infrastructure with a far greater data capacity than satellites.
Two sources with direct knowledge of the tender said that the project reached a stalemate due to security concerns raised within the island nations over HMN Tech’s bid. The project’s planned connection to a sensitive cable leading to Guam, a US territory with substantial military assets, heightened those security concerns.
“Given there was no tangible way to remove Huawei Technologies Co. as one of the bidders, all three bids were deemed non-compliant,” one of those sources said.