New Delhi: Government documents and individuals who have been made aware of the project reveal that Google is intending to open a large artificial intelligence data centre on the remote Indian Ocean island, Christmas Island, Australia. This action by the tech giant is based on a cloud computing agreement signed earlier this year with the Department of Defence in Australia that will put the facility in the heart of the new defence technology network in the country.
Christmas Island, some 350 kilometres south of the Indonesian coast, is increasingly becoming a strategic point of interest due to the increasing tensions in the region. Although Google has not officially announced the project, local authorities and documents obtained by Reuters show that the firm is actively engaged in negotiations to rent land located near the airport on the island and is discussing the issue of power supply with a local mining firm.
Strategic frontline for defence
According to military analysts, the new AI hub has the potential to act as a coveted command and control hub in the Indo-Pacific, as it would give Australia a bigger opportunity to track Chinese sub-activities and ships. A recent combined exercise between the Australian, U.S., and Japanese forces highlighted the importance of Christmas Island as a forward defence base, which would be perfect in the deployment of uncrewed systems and surveillance operations.
Former U.S. Navy strategist Bryan Clark reported that such a facility would enhance AI-enabled command and control capabilities that would be needed in the future. He also included that subsea cables which connected the island would be more reliable and safe in communications than satellites, which might be easily jammed during a crisis.
Google’s defence cloud expansion
The agreement between Google and the Australian Defence Department to sign a three-year cloud contract, which occurred in July, is based on previous military contracts in the United Kingdom. The company has also sought permission to construct a subsea cable linking Christmas Island with Darwin, one of the major Australian cities which houses U.S. Marines. SubCom, a long-time American defence undersea network contractor based in the U.S., will undertake the project.
Balancing local support and strategic goals
The small population of approximately 1,600 people in Christmas Island is determining the advantages of the proposed data centre. Local leaders claim that the project has the potential to introduce much-needed employment, infrastructure and connectivity to the island that has a long history of poor telecommunications.
Christmas Island Shire President Steve Pereira said he supported it, as long as it helped in developing the region. Certain locals, though, are concerned about heightened military operations and the effect they have on tourism. But most will agree with the strategic value of the island in the region – as a defence line and as a global connection point of data.