WASHINGTON BLOCKS GOOGLE'S PLANNED SUBSEA LINK BETWEEN THE US AND CHINA

Foreign news

Washington is to block plans for a subsea telecommunications cable between China and the US, citing national security concerns.

Google, Facebook, Pacific Light Data Communication and SubCom had committed to investing in the subsea cable, which would connect Los Angeles with Hong Kong via an 8,000-mile, state of the art link.

The consortium of partners was granted temporary approval for the planned cable by the US' Federal Communications' Commission (FCC) in 2017, however that is set to expire on the 30th of September.

The project now finds itself in limbo as the US and China continue their trade negotiations.

Industry sources told reporters from the Straits Times that the US' Justice Department asked the FCC to defer action until a full security review could be conducted.

The cable would link California, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Philippines, and would dramatically boost capacity in the Asia-Pacific region.

Neither the FCC, nor the consortium members have commented on the decision to delay the project.