|
The
deal will expand an existing commercial project by Google in the
region to the nations of Micronesia, Kiribati, the Marshall
Islands, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste,
Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
Set to be announced during an official White House visit by
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, the previously
unreported deal involves contributions from both governments.
Canberra will contribute $50 million and Washington is adding
another $15 million, according to a senior administration
official.
The tiny and sometimes isolated nations of the Pacific have
become an area of intense focus in recent years, with both China
and the United States courting them with infrastructure
development and military partnerships.
President Joe Biden has also pushed for U.S. dominance in
telecommunications services, seeing the industry as a key
national security issue given the control it affords over
information flows worldwide.
Google is currently working on a fiber-optic cable that links
Taiwan, the self-ruled island claimed by China, with the
Philippines and the United States.
As part of the Pacific islands project, the United States will
work with the countries on cybersecurity resilience, helping
them back up key information to global cloud networks, according
to the official.
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
