What is known about the project

cable searched EMA (Europe-Middle East-Asia) should become one of the most modern and longest submarine cable networks in the world. It will connect Hong Kong to the Chinese island province of Hainan and then continue to Singapore, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and France.

This ambitious project is being run by three main telecommunications operators in China:

• China Telecom,
• China Mobile Limited,
• China Unicom.

It will be manufactured and laid by HMN Technologies Co Ltd, a fast-growing cable company formerly controlled by Huawei.

Why is the EMA so important to China?

EMA cable is expected to bring many benefits to China.

• FirstIt will provide a super-fast connection between Hong Kong and the rest of the world, ensuring smooth data transfer and communication.
• SecondHaving its own Internet network will protect China’s state-sponsored operators in the event of their future exclusion from US-backed networks and ensure uninterrupted connectivity and communication channels.

Conflict between superpowers grows

The move comes amid rising tensions between China and the United States, as Washington actively seeks to block Beijing’s involvement in global cable infrastructure projects. The U.S. government is concerned it could potentially block all Internet traffic passing through the cables Beijing is building and laying, and over the past four years it has sunk several Chinese submarine cable projects intended to involve the interests of American companies.

• For example, Washington has blocked the issuance of licenses for new private submarine cables that will connect the US to Hong Kong, including projects led by tech giants like Google and Amazon.
• The EMA project has to compete with another cable built by the American company SubCom LLC, which runs along a similar route. Liner DenizMeWe-6 It will connect Singapore to France via Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and other countries.
• The US Department of Commerce imposed sanctions on HMN Tech in December 2021, alleging that the company plans to purchase American technology to help modernize communication channels for the People’s Liberation Army of China.

knowledge vein

Submarine cables are vital to international internet traffic. more than 95% of all data. These high-speed channels are traditionally owned by groups of telecommunications and technology companies that pool their resources to provide seamless data transmission around the world.

However, with these cables’ increasing vulnerability to espionage and sabotage, they have become another tool of influence in the escalating rivalry between the US and China. Both countries compete for dominance in advanced technologies that could determine economic and military superiority in the years to come.

The EMA cable is expected to be completed by the end of 2025 and is likely to have significant impacts on the ongoing technological rivalry between China and the US. As both superpowers continue to invest in advanced technology and infrastructure projects, the struggle for dominance in global communications shows no signs of waning.