Google will build three subsea cables in Papua New Guinea, which the Pacific Island nation says is being funded by Australia under a mutual defence treaty.

PNG said it would provide a key upgrade to its digital backbone and link the north and south of the nation with high-capacity cables.

Australian and US military strategists view the resource-rich nation as being in a prime location north of Australia at a time when China is boosting its influence in the region.

“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,” a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade official said in a statement.

Australia is expected to also finance a new international cable to PNG under the Pukpuk Treaty.

The $120-million effort will link northern and southern PNG and the Bougainville autonomous region, according to Peter Tsiamalili, PNG’s acting minister for information and communications technology.

“The entire investment [is] funded through Australia’s commitments under the Pukpuk Treaty,” he said in a statement.

The project reflected both nations’ shared commitment to advance digital security, regional stability, and national development, Mr Tsiamalili added.

The undersea cables will be built by Google, the statement said, adding that Mr Tsiamalili met Australian and US diplomats to discuss the project at Alphabet’s Sydney office this week.

A Google Australia spokesperson declined to comment on the PNG project.

DFAT said the cables would lower internet prices for consumers, support economic growth and increase education opportunities.

The cables would position PNG to attract investment from hyper-scalers and global digital enterprises, Mr Tsiamalili, who is also police minister, said.

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, US 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, which are 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.

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 US military.

Google said the plans would transform the island into a crossroads of the world’s data superhighways.

It would connect Australia to one of the planet’s largest submarine cable systems, spanning more than 42,000 kilometres from the United States to Asia.

Two more cable systems will extend westwards to Africa and Asia, to “deepen the resilience” of Indian Ocean internet infrastructure, Google said.