The massive military exercises underway between the United States and the Philippines in the South China Sea and those planned by China and Singapore are increasing tensions in the region after the Philippines reported a "confrontation" between two of its ships and the Chinese navy.
According to former NATO analyst Maurizio Gehry, whoever dominates the South China Sea, one of the world's most important shipping lanes for oil, minerals and food, will control more than a fifth of global trade.
But the region's biggest economic asset is big data, as the entire future of the internet depends on who wins the battle for control of this strategic waterway.
Jerry noted that there are more than 486 submarine cables that carry more than 99 percent of all international Internet traffic globally, and that a handful of American tech giants control the bulk of them.
According to him, the Internet economy in Southeast Asia is expected to reach a trillion dollars by 2030, so whoever controls the submarine cable infrastructure in Asia and the Pacific will dominate not only this booming economy but the global Internet.
Internet data streams, which carry everything from emails and banking transactions to military secrets, are worth better than oil. The world's submarine cable infrastructure is increasingly vulnerable not only to sabotage but also to espionage, as spy agencies can easily take advantage of their presence in their territory. That is why the geopolitical rivalry between the United States and China has focused more on control of the world's submarine cable networks.
The article pointed out that the American technology giants "Facebook" and "Google" built the first Asian submarine cable called (Apricot), with a length of 12,<> kilometers, and avoids Hong Kong to bypass Chinese control, and will connect Japan, Taiwan, Guam, the Philippines, Indonesia and Singapore, but excludes Malaysia, which has quickly become the focus of the U.S.-Chinese competition for control of the global internet.
He said Malaysia's exclusion from U.S.-backed submarine cable projects had already accelerated its alliance with China.
He warned that the future of the global internet is at stake, because if Malaysia falls under Chinese domination, there will be major repercussions across the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and this could lead to a series of ripple effects.
The United States, however, has a new opportunity for rapprochement with Kuala Lumpur under the new Malaysian government, and must act quickly to ensure Malaysia recognizes the benefits of digital cooperation with the West.