A worker produces submarine cables at a production base in Qingdao, East China's Shandong Province on August 8, 2024. Photo: VCG
Industry and Planning Research Institute of China Academy of Information and Communication Technology (CAICT) released a report on Tuesday on China's participation in the construction and protection of international communication submarine cables. The report highlights major breakthroughs in China's submarine cable technology in recent years and outlines the role of Chinese enterprises in building and operating international submarine cables. It also details government efforts to protect submarine infrastructure and safeguard national data security, and refutes the groundless smear of some Western politicians and media outlets.
Overall, the growth and expansion of Chinese submarine cable enterprises have provided a new option for global submarine cable construction. In the past, global submarine cable construction could only rely on three foreign enterprises. Now, with Chinese submarine cable enterprises joining as a new force, it can greatly accelerate the process of global submarine cable construction and deployment, said a Chinese expert.
International communication submarine cables are optical cable systems laid on the seabed and used for transnational communication and data transmission. They are composed of submarine optical cables, submarine repeaters, submarine branching units, terrestrial terminal equipment, power feeding equipment, and other components. International communication submarine cables carry approximately 99 percent of the global intercontinental communication and data traffic.
After years of efforts, China has initially established a relatively complete submarine cable industry chain. Chinese enterprises have become important participants in the global submarine cable equipment, submarine cable construction, and submarine cable maintenance sectors. Chinese submarine cable products and services have gained widespread recognition, said the report.
China's submarine cable technology started relatively late. However, relevant submarine cable enterprises and scientific research institutions have participated in global cooperation, leveraging the advantages of the communication industry. They have continuously increased their efforts in tackling key technologies in the field of submarine cables, gradually catching up with the global advanced level, said the report. In some aspects, they have reached the world's advanced level and possess the capability to undertake the construction of transoceanic and intercontinental submarine cables.
Regarding the ultra-long-distance deep-sea submarine cables, equipment produced by Chinese companies such as submarine cable repeaters and branching units adopt pressure-resistant and corrosion-resistant titanium alloy pressure-bearing cabins, a highly sealed structural design, and a highly reliable redundant backup design, which can ensure stable operation for 25 years at a water depth of 8,000 meters.
Chinese enterprises were the first in the industry to introduce the first 32-fiber-pair submarine cable solution and a full range of products. The innovative space division multiplexing (SDM) technology can support the Petabit-level transmission capacity of the ultra-long-distance repeater system, effectively meeting the increasing international bandwidth demand brought about by the rapid development of global digitalization, said the report.
In the field of advanced shipborne marine equipment, Chinese marine equipment manufacturing enterprises, in collaboration with submarine cable enterprises, have carried out research and development on the technology of submarine cable operation equipment, such as remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), ploughs, and cable laying machines. The performance of the submarine cable operation equipment designed and manufactured domestically has reached the international leading level, comprehensively improving the capabilities of submarine cable laying and maintenance.
The deep-sea submarine cable equipment developed by Chinese enterprises can meet the laying requirements of the vast majority of seas around the world, Mou Chunbo, chief engineer of the Industry and Planning Research Institute of CAICT, told the Global Times.
He noted that in terms of shipborne submarine cable operation equipment, in the past, China relied on imports from abroad for such equipment. However, nowadays, the equipment independently developed by China has reached the international leading level in terms of performance, and it can meet the construction needs of the vast majority of seas.
Chinese submarine cable enterprises have secured a share in the global submarine cable system integration market. The enterprises globally with the capability of delivering intercontinental submarine cables mainly include SubCom of the US, ASN of France, NEC of Japan, and HMN Tech of China. The world's submarine cable systems are mainly constructed by these four general contractors, said the report.
The report also specifically introduced the efforts made by China to protect international submarine cables and safeguard the data security of international submarine cables. For some time, certain politicians and media outlets in some Western countries have groundlessly claimed that "China deliberately sabotages international submarine cables" and smeared that "Chinese submarine cable enterprises such as the S.B.Submarine Systems (SBSS) carry out espionage and wiretapping activities through international submarine cables."
Chinese submarine cable enterprises have long been involved in the protection and maintenance of international submarine cables, making significant contributions to the stable operation of the global international submarine cable network. SBSS is a leading provider of submarine cable installation and maintenance solutions in Asia, and is also one of the three communication submarine cable support service providers in the Yokohama zone. For a long time, one of its submarine cable vessels has participated in the rotation work in the Yokohama zone, said the report.
Up to now, SBSS has more than 27 years of maintenance experience in the Yokohama Maintenance Area. It is responsible for the maintenance and emergency repair of more than 80,000 kilometers of submarine cables in the Yokohama Maintenance Area and has participated in more than 200 emergency repair operations of submarine cables. The relevant work fully complies with the standards of the maintenance area, ensuring that submarine cable owners receive high-quality services and effectively maintaining the stability of international internet communication.
In addition, the submarine cable construction vessels of FiberHome have also successfully completed multiple submarine cable construction and maintenance projects in countries such as Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Kenya, and Chile.
Since last year, some politicians in certain Western countries have started to smear China's submarine cable construction enterprises, baselessly claiming that these Chinese submarine cable enterprises' participation in undertaking international submarine cable maintenance projects poses a threat to network security. In fact, Chinese submarine cable enterprises have long been involved in the protection and maintenance of international submarine cables, and they possess rich maintenance experience and first-class capabilities, said Mou.
When Chinese submarine cable enterprises carry out relevant protection and maintenance work, they do it completely in accordance with relevant requirements and standards, Mou stressed.
According to the report of the International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC), there are approximately 200 submarine cable failures globally each year, and more than 80 percent of these incidents are caused by anchoring, fishing, and unknown human activities.
The Chinese government and enterprises attach great importance to the safety operation of international submarine cables. They adopt various measures to reduce the damage to submarine cables caused by activities such as fishing and shipping, and promptly organize forces to accelerate the repair of submarine cables failure, in order to ensure the smooth international communication, said the report.
Chinese submarine cable manufacturing enterprises and system integrators adhere to the development of neutral and open submarine cable communication technology solutions. They do not possess any technology for submarine cable network surveillance and will not take such technologies as a future exploration direction, said the report.
With the increasingly frequent international exchanges, the widely interconnected international submarine cable network has become more and more important. Governments of various countries and international organizations should strengthen cooperation in submarine cable construction and protection instead of engaging in division, so as to provide high-quality network services for global users, said Mou.
China regards the submarine cable network as the foundation for jointly building a community with a shared future in cyberspace. The growth and expansion of Chinese submarine cable enterprises have provided new options for global submarine cable construction, which can effectively alleviate the dilemma of limited production capacity of manufacturers in the US, Japan and Europe, and further reduce the cost for developing countries to access the internet, he said.
