The index suggests that the risk to cables is highest around Taiwan, Japan, and the Philippines, partly because of China’s claim of sovereignty over Taiwan but also because subsea cables linking the region to the United States must pass through shallow water with busy shipping lanes.

Among the 10 trans-Pacific cables identified as being most at risk, several are still under development with significant ownership stakes from US companies. These include the TPU project, owned by Google, the ORCA cable, owned by Meta, and the E2A cable, co-owned by Verizon along with firms in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan.…