Japan, Australia, US to fund undersea cable connection in Micronesia

Tokyo, The Gulf Observer: Japan announced Tuesday that it joined the United States and Australia in signing a $95 million undersea cable project that will connect East Micronesia island nations to improve networks in the Indo-Pacific region.

The approximately 2,250-kilometer (1,400-mile) undersea cable will connect the state of Kosrae in the Federated States of Micronesia, Tarawa in Kiribati and Nauru to the existing cable landing point located in Pohnpei in Micronesia, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

In a joint statement, the parties said the next steps involve a final survey and design and manufacturing of the cable, whose width is about that of a garden hose. Completion is expected around 2025.

The cable will connect more than 100,000 people across the three Pacific countries, according to Kazuya Endo, director general of the international cooperation bureau at the Japanese Foreign Ministry.