Africa as an Energy Source | Threat to Britain’s Undersea Cables | China’s Stake in Hamburg Port, and more

The Technological Escalation  (Krzysztof Tyszka-Drozdowski, The Critic)
The Biden Administration has introduced export controls on the latest cutting-edge chips, on the software necessary to design them and on manufacturing equipment necessary to produce them. Restrictions also apply to U.S. personnel associated with China’s advanced semiconductor sector. 
Why are the new measures so far-reaching? Before, they covered only those technologies and companies that worked directly on military endeavors. Advanced semiconductors, supercomputers and AI, however, are not neutral technologies, but rather conditions of possibility for modern weapon systems. Jake Sullivan, Biden’s National Security Advisor, referred to them as “force multipliers”. Simply forbidding the sale of chips and equipment directly to institutions or entities affiliated with the Chinese military was ineffective for two reasons. First, the Chinese had established a network of shell companies that allowed them to circumvent these restrictions. Secondly, and more importantly, China’s technology sector operates in a “civil-military fusion” framework, meaning that the line between commercially used technology and military technology is blurred, as private actors are subject to the control of the Communist Party. In this environment, the only option for the Biden administration seemed to be to cut off access to their entire advanced semiconductor ecosystem.
Whilst many of the essential tools needed to manufacture chips and the software to design them remain in U.S. hands, a great deal of the supply chain components are located in other countries. The unilateralism of the U.S. initiative may well prove to be its weakest point if non-U.S. companies realize that they can gain a much larger chunk of the Chinese market thanks to the withdrawal of their American competitors. If the U.S. fails to convince allies to join the restrictions, in the long run these efforts may prove less successful than anticipated. When Biden proposed the Chip 4 alliance, the Korean government was already reluctant about the idea (after all, 48 per cent of Samsung’s chip exports go to China.) In the face of technological escalation, finding the “win-win solution”, recently mentioned by the chief of Samsung’s semiconductor division, seems increasingly unlikely.

The Threat to Britain’s Undersea Cables  (Alexander Downer, The Spectator)
Five years ago, the Shetland Islands lost phone and internet connections after the cable that links the islands to the mainland was severed. The Boris Petrov, a Russian ‘scientific research vessel’ designed to survey the sea floor and gather intelligence, was in the area at the time. Since it’s designated a ‘vessel of interest’ by western navies, there’s every chance the fault could have been an example of Russia’s hybrid warfare.

The disruption might also have been an accident (every year there are hundreds of examples of chance damage to undersea cables around the world). Regardless, the Shetland shutdown is a reminder of the extraordinary extent to which our lives rely on these cables. Ninety-five per cent of the world’s internet traffic passes through just 200 undersea fiber-optic cable systems. There are estimated to be as few as ten global chokepoints where these cables converge or come ashore. If you wanted to cut off Britain from the world, it would not be very difficult to sabotage these chokepoints.

Germany Finds Compromise Over Chinese Hamburg Terminal Deal  (Kirsten Grieshavber, AP)
The German cabinet has approved a deal to move forward to allow Chinese shipping giant Cosco to buy a 24.9 percent stake in one of three terminals in Hamburg port.  The announcement comes amid a political controversy among Chancellor Olaf Sholz’s ruling coalition.  Supporters of the deal say it will help Hamburg, Germany’s largest port, compete with rival ports, some of which are also partly owned by Cosco.  Opponents of the deal, including Germany’s foreign and economy ministry, warn that the deal puts critical European transport infrastructure at risk of increased influence by Beijing. China’s foreign ministry said it hoped for further “pragmatic cooperation” between Beijing and Berlin. 

German Cyber Agency Warns Threat Situation Is ‘Higher Than Ever’  (Alexander Martin, The Record)
Germany’s cybersecurity agency, the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), warned Tuesday that the threat of cyberattacks is “higher than ever.”  In its annual report, the BSI said cyber criminals and hacktivist attacks linked to the Ukraine war contribute to the threat as well as insufficient IT and software product quality.  The BSI added that ransomware and cyber extortion are the biggest threats to Germany.  The warning comes after the dismissal of the agency’s former chief, Arne Schönbohm, for alleged ties to Russia’s intelligence services.