Google is in talks with Papua New Guinea (PNG) government to roll out three subsea cables across the country at a cost of $120 million which is equivalent to K516.45 million.
The project will be funded by Australia through the October Pukpuk defense treaty.
Australia and Papua New Guinea signed the Pukpuk Mutual Defence Treaty October 6, 2025, in Canberra. It commits both to treat an armed attack on either as a threat to their security, enabling joint response. The treaty covers military training, intelligence sharing and disaster aid.
The Acting Minister for Information and Communications Technology, Peter Tsiamalili Jr., announced the bilateral infrastructure program last week saying
“This investment is a major step forward for Papua New Guinea. The Pukpuk Connectivity Initiative lays the foundation for our country’s long-term digital growth and positions PNG to be a regional digital anchor.” Tsiamalili Jr says.
The initiative will deliver three new submarine cable systems to Papua New Guinea, strengthening the nation’s digital backbone with high-capacity connectivity to accordint to PNG Department of Information and Communications Technology
Australia’s foreign affairs department says on Saturday the cables would help reduce internet costs for consumers, support economic growth and expand education opportunities.
In total, Australia has committed over A$450 million (S$387 million) to support undersea cable connectivity across the Pacific and Timor-Leste, including the Coral Sea Cable between Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Australia,” an Australian foreign affairs official revealed in an interview with Reuters
The push by Google, the USA tech giant is a direct counter by the US and Australia to counter China’s growing influence in the Pacific. Papua New Guinea on the other end stands at an great position to broker a bettter deal for its people.
In 2018, a top US diplomat in Australia confirmed the two countries are working to stop Chinese telco Huawei from building a domestic internet cable network in Papua New Guinea as reported by ABC news. Huawei secured the deal despite Australian and US pushback over security risks.
Australian government continue to refuse to comment publicly about the geopolitical arm wrestle but a US official was reportted by ABC saying “We are working on a counter-offer. These are negotiations going on,”
“It’s up to the PNG Government at the end of the day. But the whole idea is to give alternatives. This is not to say don’t do business with China. Chinese offers are out on the table. It’s up to us to be competitive.”
This Google led project is the outcome of that negotiation between US, Australia and PNG government.
Sounds good on paper. But how PNG political leaders broker this deal given their high rate of past failures remains a concern.
Otherwise its all a geopolocal gain for US and Australia at the expense of PNG.
