Papua New Guinea announced on Friday that Alphabet’s Google will construct three subsea cables, financed by Australia through a mutual defence treaty, marking a major upgrade to the digital infrastructure of the Pacific’s largest island nation.

Strategic Importance

Australian and U.S. military strategists view resource-rich but largely under-developed Papua New Guinea (PNG) 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, said Peter Tsiamalili, PNG’s acting minister for information and communications technology.

“The entire investment (is) funded through Australia’s commitments under the

See Full Page