Undersea Cable Wars: US-China Relations and the Battle for Control

Undersea cable security may sound distant from daily business in Texas. However, it supports nearly every online task your company uses. Emails, cloud files, banking, video calls, websites, and remote work all depend on global data routes. Most international internet traffic moves through fiber-optic cables across the seafloor, not satellites. That makes these cables critical infrastructure, even for small businesses far from the coast. Reuters reported that more than 400 undersea cables carry over 95% of international internet traffic.

The SEA-ME-WE 6 cable shows why this issue now receives serious attention. The cable was designed to connect Asia and Europe through Africa and the Middle East. It spans about 12,000 miles and carries a reported project value near $600 million. A Chinese-supported company, HMN Tech, first appeared positioned to win the project at a lower bid. However, U.S. officials raised security concerns about Chinese involvement in sensitive communications infrastructure. The consortium eventually chose SubCom, a New Jersey company, to build the system. Reuters reported that U.S. officials helped shift the deal through advocacy, incentives, and warnings.

For business owners, the lesson is not “panic about China.” The better lesson is simpler. The systems we use every day rely on infrastructure we rarely see. A cloud app may look clean and simple on your screen. However, the data behind it may cross countries, vendors, carriers, and legal systems. That complexity creates both convenience and risk.

The U.S. concern centered on trust, control, and possible surveillance. Officials warned that a cable builder could influence equipment, maintenance, or monitoring. They also worried that strategic cable routes could expose sensitive data. HMN Tech has denied being a security threat, and China has criticized U.S. pressure campaigns. Still, the dispute shows how infrastructure choices now carry national security weight.

This fight also affects major technology companies. Google, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, and telecom carriers invest heavily in subsea cable capacity. These companies need fast, stable global connections. However, government security reviews can delay routes, block landing points, or change vendor decisions. Several planned cable projects involving Hong Kong changed after U.S. review. That matters because those costs eventually shape cloud service planning and business resilience.

Team Telecom plays a major role in this process. Its formal name is the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the U.S. Telecommunications Services Sector. A 2020 executive order formalized the committee and gave it review duties. The committee reviews telecom applications for national security and law enforcement risk. It can recommend approval, denial, mitigation, license modification, or revocation to the FCC. That means telecom infrastructure is no longer treated as ordinary commercial wiring.

The FCC has also taken direct action against Chinese telecom providers. In 2021, the FCC revoked China Telecom Americas’ authority to operate in the United States. The agency cited national security and law enforcement risks. It also said the company could access, store, disrupt, or misroute U.S. communications. These actions show how security concerns now reach both physical infrastructure and service providers.

This does not mean every foreign vendor is unsafe. It also does not mean every cloud service is fragile. A better takeaway is vendor visibility. Business owners should know which vendors hold data, how accounts are protected, and what happens during outages. If a vendor cannot explain security, backups, or access controls, that is a business risk. Likewise, if your staff cannot explain who owns key logins, that is also risk. The global cable story is large. The local lesson is basic governance.

Small businesses do not need to become geopolitical experts. However, they should understand the practical takeaway. Your technology stack depends on a larger trust chain. That chain includes cloud vendors, internet providers, device vendors, security tools, DNS providers, and backup platforms. If one link fails, your business can lose access, visibility, or control.

Therefore, the local response should be practical. First, know where your critical data lives. Next, know who can access it. Then, document your backups, recovery steps, and vendor contacts. Also, use multi-factor authentication and strong password management. These basics will not solve global cable disputes. However, they reduce the damage when larger systems fail or change.

This is where managed IT earns its keep. Good IT support is not just antivirus and password resets. It includes vendor review, backup testing, access control, documentation, and continuity planning. A small Texas business may never touch a subsea cable contract. Still, that same business depends on cloud access every day.

At SofTouch Systems, our approach is calm and practical. We do not expect small teams to track every global infrastructure dispute. Instead, we help them build systems that keep working through vendor changes, outages, scams, and security pressure. That is the heart of No-Surprise IT.

Undersea cables may run beneath oceans. However, their reliability reaches every office, clinic, shop, and nonprofit using the internet. The safer move is not fear. The safer move is preparation.

Need help reviewing your business continuity plan? Schedule a free 15-minute IT security check with SofTouch Systems.