China Mobile’s proposal to build the first submarine fiber-optic cable directly linking South America and Asia has reportedly stalled following U.S. intervention, highlighting the intensifying geopolitical competition over global digital infrastructure. The proposed 20,000-kilometer cable would connect Chile with China, reducing South America’s dependence on U.S.-controlled communications networks at a time when artificial intelligence is driving rapid growth in global data traffic.
According to reports, Chile’s Ministry of Telecommunications initially approved the project in January 2026. Shortly afterward, ministry officials were summoned to the U.S. Embassy in Santiago, and the approval was withdrawn two days later, officially citing “technical errors.” In February, then-Transportation and Telecommunications Minister Juan Carlos Muñoz and two other Chilean officials reportedly had their U.S. diplomatic visas revoked after evaluating China Mobile’s proposal. The U.S. State Department reportedly argued that their actions could jeopardize critical telecommunications infrastructure and regional security.
Former Chilean President Gabriel Boric later said he ordered the project withdrawn after the United States threatened long-term consequences, adding that any decision on the cable should be subject to public debate. Following the inauguration of President José Antonio Kast in March, the U.S. ambassador to Chile declared the China Mobile project effectively “over.”
The case illustrates the growing U.S.-China rivalry over global telecommunications infrastructure. While U.S. technology companies dominate submarine cable networks linking South America to the rest of the world, Chinese firms—including China Telecom, Huawei, ZTE, and Alibaba Cloud—have steadily expanded their presence across Latin America through investments in 5G networks, data centers, cloud services, and other digital infrastructure.
Source: Epoch Times, June 19, 2026
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/26/6/18/n14791883.htm