中美在海底的一场无声较量，一宗大单从北京指缝间溜走｜路透社

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  • 运送世界数据的海底电缆，现在是美中科技战争的核心。路透社了解到，由于担心北京的间谍，华盛顿已经挫败了中国的海外项目，并扼杀了大科技公司通往香港的电缆线路。

  • SubCom LLC于2月开始铺设一条价值6亿美元的海底光缆，从亚洲经非洲和中东到欧洲。一家中国公司HMN Technologies Co Ltd曾处于抢夺合同的边缘，但在美国政府的干预下，该合同被授予SubCom。

  • 美国政府担心中国可能对通信电缆进行间谍活动，并通过对财团成员的激励和压力，成功地将合同转给了SubCom。这是过去四年中亚太地区至少六项私营海底电缆交易中的一项，美国政府为防止中国参与其中而进行了干预。

  • SeaMeWe-6电缆将于2025年完工，将连接从新加坡到法国的12个国家，跨越三个海洋和印度洋。美国政府决心阻止中国参与此类项目，作为他们在未来几十年内实现经济和军事主导地位的努力的一部分。

  • 中国的HMN Tech公司，其前身成立于2008年，曾为华为技术公司所拥有，在过去十年中已成为全球增长最快的海底电缆建造商。

  • 海底电缆是美国和中国技术竞争的核心，承载着95%以上的国际互联网流量。它们很容易受到破坏和间谍活动的影响，上个月，两条连接台湾和马祖岛的通信电缆被切断，使它们被卷入中国和台湾之间的冲突的可能性陡然增加。间谍机构也可以窃听降落在其领土上的电缆，使其成为一个 “监视金矿”。

  • 美国政府已经中止了几个项目，其中涉及已经制造并铺设在太平洋上数千英里的电缆。这使谷歌、Meta Platforms Inc和Amazon.com Inc等公司损失了数百万美元的收入和额外成本。

  • SubCom公司对SeaMe-6之争不予置评，而HMN Tech公司和中国外交部没有回应评论请求。微软、中国电信、中国移动、中国联通和Orange也没有对评论请求作出回应。亚马逊、Meta和谷歌拒绝对这些项目或电缆战发表评论。

  • 总部位于新泽西的SubCom公司成立于1955年，是世界三大海底电缆公司之一。作为美国唯一的大型电缆铺设商，SubCom公司在美国与中国的技术之争中已经变得至关重要。

  • 路透社的文章讨论了美国政府为对抗中国成为世界先进技术的主要生产国而做出的努力。美国的电缆努力是由一个成立了三年的机构间工作组–电信小组领导的。为了将中国建设者赶出新加坡至法国的电缆，美国提供了一些甜头，如总价值380万美元的培训补助，并对项目的投资者提出警告。

  • 美国外交官告诫参与项目的外国电信运营商，华盛顿计划对HMN Tech公司实施严厉的制裁。美国商务部在2021年12月兑现了这一威胁。美国国务院通过其大使馆进行宣传，以帮助SubCom赢得合同，包括警告其他国家注意HMN Tech带来的安全风险。2022年2月，SubCom宣布，电缆财团将合同授予它。

  • 中国电信和中国移动退出了该项目，因为中国政府不会批准他们参与苏博通信作为电缆承包商的工作。2022年6月26日，白宫发表了一份概况介绍，引用了SubCom的海底电缆交易，并说美国政府 "集体帮助确保 "SubCom获得合同。

  • 一段时间以来，美中关系一直在恶化，并达到了几十年来的最低点。这是由各种问题造成的，包括中国支持俄罗斯入侵乌克兰，镇压香港，以及将台湾置于北京控制之下的计划。美国总统乔-拜登试图进一步孤立中国的高科技领域，目的是将一些技术制造业带回美国，同时不让美国的尖端创新落入中国人手中。

  • 中国电信华为技术有限公司旗下的华为海洋网络有限公司于2008年进入战场，并成为世界上增长最快的海底电缆制造商和层。然而，该公司在2019年遭到了特朗普政府的抨击，未经政府批准，被禁止从美国公司购买零部件。华为技术公司在2020年剥离了其在华为海洋的股份，并与这家铺设电缆的公司不再有联系。

  • HMN技术公司，即以前的华为海洋公司，继续通过PEACE电缆扩大其野心，连接亚洲、非洲和欧洲。在SubCom公司将其抢走之前，该公司准备通过新加坡到法国的项目实现另一个巨大的飞跃。这篇关于该交易如何失败的报道是基于对直接参与SeaMe-6合同的六位人士的采访。

  • 海底电缆可以像花园水管一样细，由围绕一束光纤的多层保护层组成，以光脉冲的形式传输数据。

  • 路透社的文章讨论了SeaMe-6海底电缆的建设，该项目由科技和电信公司组成的财团出资。该财团已分成两组，中国电信、中国移动和中国联通支持HMN Tech公司5亿美元的出价，而微软、Orange和Bharti Airtel则对美国可能的反击表示担忧。

  • 财团成员口头上同意由HMN Tech公司建造电缆，由SubCom公司作为储备，以备HMN Tech公司退出或未能满足其提案条款。然而，SubCom和美国政府私下里对HMN Tech是否是这项工作的最佳公司提出了质疑。

  • 文章探讨了在决定选择SeaMeWe-6海底电缆的承包商时涉及的财务和政治考虑。财团在选择承包商时必须权衡成本、风险和美国政府的潜在反击，并最终决定采用成本较低的HMN Tech公司的投标。

  • SubCom公司已经向美国联邦进出口银行申请了贷款，并从商务部获得了宣传援助，以便在其东道国向财团成员靠拢。美国驻至少六个国家的大使给当地电信运营商写信，并在至少五个国家会见了外国电信公司的高管，解释对HMN Tech的潜在制裁。

  • 一些财团成员，包括孟加拉国海底电缆有限公司、印度的巴蒂电信公司、斯里兰卡电信公司、法国的奥兰治公司和埃及电信公司，由于担心制裁，对选择HMN Tech有了新的想法。SubCom和HMN Tech随后提交了一份 “最佳和最终报价”，其中SubCom报价接近6亿美元，HMN Tech报价4.75亿美元。担任电缆委员会主席的新加坡电信公司敦促这些公司就最终决定进行投票。中国电信和中国移动威胁要退出该项目，但财团的大多数成员选择了SubCom。

  • 除了新加坡至法国的电缆，美国、澳大利亚和日本宣布他们将联合资助一条连接瑙鲁、密克罗尼西亚联邦和基里巴斯这三个太平洋岛国的电缆。海底电缆行业受到美中幕后争斗的威胁，悉尼的海底电缆顾问Paul McCann说这是史无前例的。

  • 电信小组是特朗普政府成立的一个机构间委员会，旨在保障美国电信网络免受间谍活动和网络攻击。司法部负责该委员会的工作，由助理司法部长马修-奥尔森领导。由于担心中国的间谍活动，Team Telecom已经封锁了连接美国和香港的四条电缆。

  • 华盛顿已采取各种措施限制中国在美国战略领域的影响，包括取消计划中的美国和香港之间的海底电缆，因为中国间谍机构有可能截获数据。谷歌、美达和亚马逊都曾投资该电缆，他们的计划最终被Team Telecom颠覆。中国对这些措施做出了回应，封锁了美达公司作为投资者的一条电缆，理由是担心该电缆制造商有可能插入间谍设备。

  • 美国还阻止美国公司使用中国公司的电信设备，并禁止几家中国国有电信公司在美国境内运营。美国联邦通信委员会撤销了对中国电信在美国运营的授权，理由是该公司利用其对美国网络的访问，将国际流量误导回中国服务器。Team Telecom的DeBacker说，中国间谍活动的风险是真实的，他们正在努力防止未来发生这种情况。

  • 关于铺设电缆的船只：海底电缆是由专门设计的船只铺设的，这些船只将电缆运上船，然后将其卷到海底。据行业组织国际电缆保护委员会称，在全球范围内，只有大约60艘现役船舶能够铺设或维修海底电缆。

  • 关于将电缆埋在海底下尽管有保护层，海底电缆很容易被船锚、渔船和地震等自然事件损坏。在靠近海岸或捕鱼活动频繁的地区，电缆必须被埋在海床上的沟里。

  • SubCom LLC began laying a $600-million undersea fiber-optic cable from Asia to Europe, via Africa and the Middle East, in February. HMN Technologies Co Ltd, a Chinese company, was on the brink of snagging the contract, but the U.S. government intervened and the contract was awarded to SubCom.

  • The U.S. government was concerned about potential Chinese spying on the communications cables, and ran a successful campaign to flip the contract to SubCom through incentives and pressure on the consortium members. This is one of at least six private undersea cable deals in the Asia-Pacific region over the past four years where the U.S. government has intervened to prevent Chinese involvement.

  • The SeaMeWe-6 cable, due to be completed in 2025, will connect twelve countries from Singapore to France, crossing three seas and the Indian Ocean. The U.S. government is determined to prevent Chinese involvement in such projects, as part of their efforts to achieve economic and military dominance for decades to come.

  • Undersea cables are central to the U.S.-China technology competition, carrying over 95% of all international internet traffic. They are vulnerable to sabotage and espionage, and the potential for them to be drawn into a conflict between China and Taiwan was thrown into sharp relief last month when two communications cables were cut that connected Taiwan with its Matsu islands. Spy agencies can also tap into cables landing on their territory, making them a “surveillance gold mine”.

  • The U.S. government has upended several projects involving cables that had already been manufactured and laid thousands of miles across the Pacific Ocean. This has cost companies such as Google, Meta Platforms Inc and Amazon.com Inc millions of dollars in lost revenue and additional costs.

  • SubCom had no comment on the SeaMeWe-6 battle, while HMN Tech and China’s foreign ministry did not respond to requests for comment. Microsoft, China Telecom, China Mobile, China Unicom and Orange also did not respond to requests for comment. Amazon, Meta and Google declined to comment about the projects or the cable wars.

  • The article discusses the effort of the U.S. government to counter China’s effort to become the world’s dominant producer of advanced technologies. The U.S. cable effort is being led by a three-year-old interagency task force, Team Telecom. To oust the Chinese builder from the Singapore-to-France cable, the U.S. offered sweeteners, such as training grants valued at a total of $3.8 million, and warnings to the project’s investors.

  • American diplomats cautioned participating foreign telecom carriers that Washington planned to impose crippling sanctions on HMN Tech. The U.S. Commerce Department made good on the threat in December 2021. The U.S. State Department advocated through its embassies to help SubCom win the contract, including warning other countries about the security risks posed by HMN Tech. In February 2022, SubCom announced that the cable consortium had awarded it the contract.

  • China Telecom and China Mobile pulled out of the project because the Chinese government wouldn’t approve their involvement with SubCom as the cable contractor. On June 26, 2022, the White House published a fact sheet citing the SubCom undersea cable deal and said the U.S. government had “collectively helped secure” the award of the contract for SubCom.

  • U.S.-China relations have been deteriorating for some time and have reached their lowest point in decades. This has been caused by a variety of issues, including China’s support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, its crackdown on Hong Kong, and its plan to bring Taiwan under Beijing’s control. President Joe Biden has sought to further isolate China’s high-tech sector with the aim of bringing some technology manufacturing back to America while keeping cutting-edge U.S. innovation out of Chinese hands.

  • Huawei Marine Networks Co Ltd, owned by Chinese telecom Huawei Technologies, entered the fray in 2008 and has become the world’s fastest-growing manufacturer and layer of subsea cables. However, the company came under fire from the Trump administration in 2019 and was banned from buying parts and components from U.S. companies without government approval. Huawei Technologies divested its stake in Huawei Marine in 2020 and is no longer connected with the cable-laying company.

  • HMN Tech, formerly Huawei Marine, has continued to expand its ambitions with the PEACE cable, connecting Asia, Africa and Europe. The firm was poised to make another great leap with the Singapore-to-France project before SubCom snatched it away. This account of how that deal fell apart is based on interviews with six people directly involved in the SeaMeWe-6 contract.

  • The article discusses the construction of the SeaMeWe-6 undersea cable, which is funded by a consortium of tech and telecom companies. The consortium had split into two groups, with China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom backing the HMN Tech bid of $500 million, while Microsoft, Orange and Bharti Airtel had concerns about potential U.S. pushback.

  • The consortium members verbally agreed that HMN Tech would build the cable, with SubCom as the reserve in case HMN Tech pulled out or failed to meet the terms of its proposal. However, SubCom and the U.S. government were privately raising doubts about whether HMN Tech was the best company for the job.

  • The article examines the financial and political considerations involved in the decision to select a contractor for the SeaMeWe-6 undersea cable. The consortium had to weigh the cost, risk and potential pushback from the U.S. government when selecting a contractor, and ultimately decided to go with the lower-cost HMN Tech bid.

  • SubCom had applied for loans from the federal Export-Import Bank of the United States and secured advocacy assistance from the Department of Commerce to lean on consortium members in their host nations. U.S. ambassadors in at least six countries wrote letters to local telecom carriers and met with executives at foreign telecom companies in at least five countries to explain the potential sanctions on HMN Tech.

  • Several consortium members, including Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited, India’s Bharti Airtel, Sri Lanka Telecom, France’s Orange and Telecom Egypt, had second thoughts about choosing HMN Tech due to fear of sanctions. SubCom and HMN Tech then submitted a “best and final offer”, with SubCom offering close to $600 million and HMN Tech offering $475 million. Singtel, the chair on the cable committee, urged the companies to vote on a final decision. China Telecom and China Mobile threatened to walk off the project, but the majority of the consortium picked SubCom.

  • In addition to the Singapore-to-France cable, the U.S., Australia, and Japan announced they would jointly fund a cable connecting the three Pacific island nations of Nauru, the Federated States of Micronesia and Kiribati. The subsea cable industry is threatened by the U.S.-China backroom brawling, with Paul McCann, a Sydney-based subsea cable consultant, saying it is unprecedented.

  • Team Telecom is an interagency committee established by the Trump administration to safeguard US telecommunications networks from espionage and cyberattacks. The Department of Justice is in charge of the committee, headed by Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen. Team Telecom has blocked four cables from connecting the US to Hong Kong due to concerns of Chinese espionage.

  • Washington has taken various measures to limit China’s influence in US strategic areas, including the cancellation of a planned subsea cable between the US and Hong Kong due to the potential for Chinese spy agencies to intercept data. Google, Meta, and Amazon had all invested in the cable, and their plans were ultimately upended by Team Telecom. China has responded to these measures by blocking a cable in which Meta is an investor, citing concerns about the potential for the cable manufacturer to insert spy equipment.

  • The US has also blocked American firms from using telecom gear from Chinese firms and banned several Chinese state-owned telecom companies from operating in US territory. The FCC revoked authorization for China Telecom to operate in the US, citing examples of the company using its access to US networks to misroute international traffic back to Chinese servers. Team Telecom’s DeBacker said the risk of Chinese espionage is real and they are trying to prevent it from happening in the future.

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