China wants to take control of Micronesia’s submarine cables to spy on the islands

Outgoing Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) President David Panuelo last week wrote a letter which accused Beijing of “rampant” bribery, espionage and other tactics, including an attempt to take control of Micronesia’s national submarine cables and telecommunications infrastructure.

Panuelo noted that controlling Micronesia’s fiber optic cables would allow China to read email and listen in on phone calls on the islands.

Moreover, he said, the PRC offered “gifts” to senior and elected officials of Micronesia for them to work for China. Gifts ranged from envelopes of money to private jet travel and smartphones handed over to officials upon leaving China. It is possible that these phones may contain spyware or malware.

According to Panuelo, Chinese officials are trying to convince officials to take already agreed measures, such as signing a Memorandum of Understanding, although this has been officially denied.

The President mentioned other countries with which China has also tried to cooperate: Djibouti, Zambia, Uguanda, Ethiopia and Sri Lanka. “Cooperation” with these countries also began with documentation very similar to the Memorandum of Understanding.

According to Panuelo, the MOU gives the PRC control over FSM ports and submarine cables connecting FSM to the world.

According to the President’s letter, China wants to take over FSM’s ocean resources and set up Marine Spatial Planning for its own use – deep sea mining, control of Micronesian fiber optic cables and other telecommunications infrastructure, which would allow the PRC to read emails and listen in on Micronesian phone calls.

According to the letter, Panuelo is leaving office on May 11, and China is just waiting for a new president to take over, then they will start to advance their campaign, which Panuelo stopped.

Panuelo wrote the letter on March 10, and on March 11, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning responded by saying that China strongly opposes countries that have diplomatic relations with China to engage in any form of official interaction with the Taiwan region in violation of the One China principle. Based on China’s principle of mutual respect and mutual benefit, China is willing to work with FSM to strengthen friendship and cooperation.