Undersea cable in jeopardyTOM PULLAR-STRECKER Last updated 15:43 27/03/2012
New Zealand's "next best hope" for a new subsea communications cable could fall victim to Australian government concerns over Chinese espionage.
Axin, a company understood to be backed by Hong Kong and New Zealand investors, announced in September that it would use Anglo-Chinese joint venture Huawei Marine to build a US$100 million communications cable between Sydney and Auckland that it hoped to commission next year.
However, the Australian Financial Review today reported that the Australian government was investigating another proposed cable between Perth and Singapore that Huawei Marine intended to build for Melbourne-based subsea cable company ASSC-1 because of "security concerns".
Citing "federal government sources", it said ASSC-1's cable could be reviewed under Foreign Investment Review Board regulations because of its location within Australia's economic zone.
The Australian Attorney-General's Department has barred Huawei from supplying equipment for Australia's A$36 billion National Broadband Network on the advice of security agency ASIO, in apparent retaliation for cyber attacks allegedly originating in China.
Axin is one of two companies hoping to break the Southern Cross Cable's near monopoly on high-speed links to and from New Zealand. Local start-up Pacific Fibre missed its November target to raise US$400m for a new cable between New Zealand, Australia and the United States but is continuing to pursue project.
Axin and Huawei Marine announced in January that they had finalised an agreement for a multimillion-dollar seabed survey that needs to be carried out before construction of its cable can commence and Huawei chairman Robin Lee said it envisaged state-owned enterprise Kordia would operate the cable. However, the company has not said when the survey would start.
Pacific Fibre chief executive Mark Rushworth said issues raised by US and Australian authorities about Chinese suppliers validated its decision to appoint US company TE SubCom to build its cable. "Where this leaves the proposed Huawei built trans-Tasman cable, is another question."
- © Fairfax NZ News
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August 03, 2012, 10:13:18 PM