By Reuters
Publication Date: 2025-12-14 00:22:00
By Kirsty Needham
SYDNEY, Dec 12 (Reuters) – Alphabet’s GOOGL.O Google will build three subsea cables in Papua New Guinea, which the largest Pacific Island nation said was funded by Australia under a mutual defense treaty, in a key upgrade to its digital backbone.
Australian and U.S. military strategists view resource-rich but largely under-developed Papua New Guinea as having a prized location north of Australia at a time when China is boosting its influence in the region.
The $120-million effort will link northern and southern Papua New Guinea and the Bougainville autonomous region with high-capacity cables, Peter Tsiamalili, PNG’s acting minister for information and communications technology, said on Friday.
PNG SAYS PROJECT FUNDED BY PUKPUK TREATY
“The entire investment (is) funded through Australia’s commitments under the Pukpuk Treaty,” he said in a statement, referring to a mutual defense pact signed in October.
The project…
