China Pulls Back From Global Subsea Cable Project as US Tensions Mount (ft.com) 22
China has cut its participation in an internet cable project to link Asia with Europe, as tensions grow between Washington and Beijing over control of the physical infrastructure that transmits the world's online traffic. From a report: Two of China's biggest telecoms groups, China Telecom and China Mobile, withdrew their combined investment of roughly 20 per cent from the subsea cable project last year after a US company was selected to build the line over Hengtong Marine, the country's biggest provider in the sector, according to three people briefed on the decision.
Their exit from the Sea-Me-We 6 pipeline -- which is estimated to cost around $500mn to lay 19,200km of cables connecting south-east Asia to western Europe -- highlights the growing battle between China and the US over who builds and owns the infrastructure underpinning the global internet. The departure of China Mobile and China Telecom is an indication of intensifying tensions between Washington and Beijing, according to industry figures with knowledge of the project. Another member of the consortium described their involvement as "important but not critical."
Their exit from the Sea-Me-We 6 pipeline -- which is estimated to cost around $500mn to lay 19,200km of cables connecting south-east Asia to western Europe -- highlights the growing battle between China and the US over who builds and owns the infrastructure underpinning the global internet. The departure of China Mobile and China Telecom is an indication of intensifying tensions between Washington and Beijing, according to industry figures with knowledge of the project. Another member of the consortium described their involvement as "important but not critical."
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Considering that work is done offshore in international waters, unlikely.
The balloon plot (Score:1)
China sent the shadiest looking LEO balloons around the world just to get one shot down.
Now they'll be "justified" shooting down Starlink and Kuiper satellites that cross over China. That's my theory, anyway.
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Specially of the change in comms that happens when a deemed hostile target is being tracked across the sky.
Perhaps the rest of the planet should return the favor now and float a couple dozen balloons over China now. Just for shits and grins. Let's see how "comms" changes.
Re:The balloon plot (Score:5, Insightful)
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Low Earth satellites are technically in the atmosphere too. Just a lot less of it.
And the follow-up mystery objects are smaller. It seems like systematic probing of our air defense systems if I get a second guess. Reacting slow would be in our national security interest if these are not weapons. The current round is still only at 60,000 feet, but I'm guessing they'll head both higher and lower from there if this is a systematic probe.
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China sent the shadiest looking LEO balloons around the world just to get one shot down.
Now they'll be "justified" shooting down Starlink and Kuiper satellites that cross over China. That's my theory, anyway.
That would be a violation of the Outer Space Treaty [unoosa.org] and an act of war against the USA.
The Chinese Government likes to push boundaries and test limits... all just part of the game of international politics. They don't actually want to start a shooting war with the USA.
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I see international war with China as similar in likelihood to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
By the way, both Russia and China have ground-based anti satellite missiles. These later objects are still at only 60,000 feet while they probe the sensitivity of our air defense systems. They will likely go higher after going smaller. There will come a point where we can't shoot them down without violating a treaty but they appear ready for that.
I might sound paranoid, but if they were going to methodically pl
Europe to Asia (Score:1)
So let them (Score:3)
See how much they bitch and moan when people outside China can no longer do business directly with China, and Chinese companies have to maintain offices outside China to process orders. In jurisdictions in *gasp* foreign control, with foreign rules.
It cuts both ways, baby!
And it gives even more reasons to on-shore production that went to China. Jobs, jobs, jobs, just not in China so much.
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And it gives even more reasons to on-shore production that went to China. Jobs, jobs, jobs, just not in China so much.
And yet if it were as easy as waiving your jobs-jobs magic wand around, Earth wouldn't have spent the last couple of decades moving a planet's worth of manufacturing to China.
Cheap prices and high profit margins abusing foreign labor? Not so much. Good luck with that.
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And it gives even more reasons to on-shore production that went to China. Jobs, jobs, jobs, just not in China so much.
And yet if it were as easy as waiving your jobs-jobs magic wand around, Earth wouldn't have spent the last couple of decades moving a planet's worth of manufacturing to China.
Cheap prices and high profit margins abusing foreign labor? Not so much. Good luck with that.
Look around. The jobs and manufacturing shift away from China IS happening. Once people realized it's a security issue, and not just cheap plastic shit for Walmart, things started changing.
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And it gives even more reasons to on-shore production that went to China. Jobs, jobs, jobs, just not in China so much.
And yet if it were as easy as waiving your jobs-jobs magic wand around, Earth wouldn't have spent the last couple of decades moving a planet's worth of manufacturing to China.
Cheap prices and high profit margins abusing foreign labor? Not so much. Good luck with that.
Look around. The jobs and manufacturing shift away from China IS happening. Once people realized it's a security issue, and not just cheap plastic shit for Walmart, things started changing.
Alright then. Go ahead. Hold your breath and wait for the Wal-Marts of the world to disconnect from Chinese manufacturing. I already know what Greed is going to eventually do. Go right back to the same old shit of maximizing profit through whatever legal (in another country) process they can take advantage of.
I agree. Look around. That's still greedy stupid humans around you. Not a damn thing has changed.
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I don't shop at Walmart. I also don't shop at Amazon. Turns out it's actually cheaper to support your local businesses, because they've had to sharpen their pencils and offer better deals. Everything from security cameras to graphics cards to RAM is cheaper from local retailers.
Non-PC? (Score:3)
That's good because I don't want Xi able to see me wee.
So that's how the next war starts (Score:1)
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well, no, starlink won't work in chinese controlled territorry
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