Underwater Cable Assault by China: TikTok, Sea Cables, and Technological Domination Over the West
In the rapidly evolving world of technology, the issue of China's dominance in telecommunications and digital infrastructure has become a matter of significant concern for many nations, particularly the United States. The stakes in this battle for digital dominance are clear, as stated by Hudayar, and the West is being warned about the potential risks of falling under China's digital dominance.
China's growing influence is evident in various aspects of digital infrastructure, including the manufacturing, repair, and maintenance of undersea cables. These cables, crucial for internet and communication connectivity, are now central to China's strategy. The concern is that China could physically damage these cables or tap into them for intelligence gathering, as they carry the vast majority of global communications, including classified and commercial data.
Moreover, Chinese state-sponsored groups have been found to execute persistent cyber-espionage campaigns targeting telecommunications providers and critical infrastructure, compromising sensitive configurations, administrative credentials, and communications metadata. This could potentially allow China to pre-position cyber assets that could disrupt emergency responses or amplify espionage during crises.
Beijing's control over telecom equipment manufacturers and opaque corporate governance also allows it to embed surveillance capabilities in equipment deployed worldwide. The U.S. government has banned equipment from several Chinese firms like Huawei due to fears of backdoors facilitating espionage.
U.S. regulatory agencies have struggled to fully track and restrict Chinese ownership or control over U.S.-linked telecommunications assets, partly due to indirect control mechanisms through subsidiaries or state influence. This regulatory gap allows China to expand its influence across technical infrastructure foundational to national security without sufficient oversight.
The Chinese Communist Party is also suspected of leveraging exported telecom technologies for intelligence collection, compounded by concerns over Chinese state media framing the U.S. as a surveillance empire while engaging in similar tactics. For instance, the popular app TikTok, which is owned by ByteDance, has been criticized for harvesting user data and handing it over to Beijing. TikTok is a surveillance platform masquerading as entertainment, compiling digital profiles of millions of Western citizens for future blackmail, political manipulation, and ideological influence.
In response to these concerns, the call to action is for the West to invest significantly in homegrown tech infrastructure to counter China's digital dominance. This includes building secure undersea cables, banning Chinese-made devices and services, and ensuring regulatory oversight to prevent indirect control mechanisms.
The battle for digital dominance is intensifying, and it's up to the West to fight back against China's digital dominance before it's too late. The West risks falling under China's digital dominance if it does not invest in homegrown tech infrastructure, a reality that must not be ignored.
- The entertainment industry, along with news and policy-and-legislation sectors, should remain vigilant against potential risks associated with Chinese digital dominance, as concerns over surveillance and data security extend beyond telecommunications.
- Artificial-intelligence, data-and-cloud-computing, and technology industries must prioritize cybersecurity measures to protect sensitive information and critical infrastructure from Chinese cyber-espionage campaigns.
- In the realm of political discourse, it's essential to acknowledge the Chinese Communist Party's employment of opaque corporate governance to embed surveillance capabilities in exported telecom technologies.
- To counter Beijing's control over telecom equipment manufacturers, foreign nations should implement legal policies aimed at restricting Chinese ownership or indirect control over their critical infrastructure.
- The General-news media should cover the intensifying battle for digital dominance, emphasizing the risks of falling under China's digital dominance and the importance of investing in homegrown tech infrastructure, discussing not only the technical aspects but also the political and ideological implications.
