EU Plans to Lay Down an Underwater Cable to Asia
Source: iStock.com/Imaginima
The European Union is developing plans to lay undersea cables to Japan and South Korea via the Arctic, reports TASS based on information from Nikkei Asia.
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There are currently two maintained projects in this sphere:
- Far North Fiber. A project which calls itself “The Fastest, Most Secure Bridge Between Continents”, planning to link Ireland with Japan through the Northwest Passage. It involves surveying the seabed to determine the optimal route. This is a commercial venture, with participation from companies based in Finland, Canada, and the United States.
- Polar Connect. A research institute-backed project with financial support from EU governments which plans to use the Arctic undersea space. “An area so far without any submarine cable systems, yet offering this unique route that will dramatically increase resilience of the connectivity,” as the project page says.
The latter explores two routes: a direct one under the sea ice of the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean, northeast of Greenland, or an alternative route through the Northwest Passage.
As the Nikkei Asia report notes, Japan views the European proposal with some skepticism, as Tokyo maintains that such projects should be funded exclusively by the private sector. However, experts argue that government support is essential for the future system’s viability, given the operating conditions of the North and the high costs of maintenance.
These developments are another sign of the EU’s efforts to increase its autonomous presence in the Arctic. The Arctic Century previously highlighted the EU’s plans to expand with its icebreaking fleet and data sharing in their new strategy.