By Kirsty Needham
SYDNEY, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Alphabet's Google will build three subsea cables in Papua New Guinea, which the largest Pacific Island nation said was funded by Australia under a mutual defence 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 defence pact signed in October.
The project reflected both nations' shared commitment to advance digital security, regional stability, and national development, he added.
The subsea cables will be built by Google, the statement said, adding that Tsiamalili met Australian and U.S. diplomats to discuss the project at Google's Australian office this week.
A Google Australia spokeswoman declined to comment on the PNG project.
Australia's foreign affairs department said on Saturday the cables will lower internet prices for consumers, support economic growth and increase education opportunities.
The cables will position PNG to attract investment from hyper-scalers and global digital enterprises, said Tsiamalili, who is also police minister.
The Pukpuk Treaty gives Australian defence personnel access to PNG communications systems, including satellite stations and cables. The United States is also strengthening military ties with PNG, signing a defence cooperation pact in 2023.
AUSTRALIA, U.S. SEEK TO COUNTER CHINA'S INFLUENCE
Australia and the United States have funded various subsea cables across the Pacific Islands in recent years to block a push by China to build the vital communication links, viewed by Canberra as a security risk.
PNG's domestic submarine cable was built by China's Huawei in 2018 and financed by a loan from China's EXIM bank.
"Australia has committed over A$450 million ($300 million) to support undersea cable connectivity across the Pacific and Timor-Leste, including the Coral Sea Cable between Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Australia," an Australian foreign affairs official said in a statement to Reuters on Saturday.
Australia is expected to also finance a new international cable to PNG.
Google said last month it planned to build a data hub on Australia's Indian Ocean outpost of Christmas Island, another strategic defence location, with new cables linking the island with Australian cities hosting key defence bases also used by the U.S. military.
Two more cable systems will extend westwards to Africa and Asia, to "deepen the resilience" of Indian Ocean internet infrastructure, Google said.
($1 = 1.5033 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Kirsty Needham in Sydney; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and William Mallard)
