The Chinese foreign ministry didn’t respond to a question about seabed cables but said tension in the Taiwan Strait shouldn’t be exaggerated. In December, the U.S. said companies owned by China’s Hengtong Group that lay and manage seabed cables have links to the Chinese military. One recent report estimated the contribution of seabed cables to the U.S. economy at nearly $649 billion, or about 3% of U.S. gross domestic product. The Asia-Pacific region has some of the highest concentrations of the roughly 436 active seabed cables that extend more than 800,000 miles around the world. Data capacity from satellite connections is a tiny fraction of that from seabed cables, however, and specialist terminals are needed to receive connections from satellites.

Source: Wall Street Journal April 23, 2022 15:50 UTC