When asked on Insiders about the United States’ review of AUKUS contributions, Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy made a subtle but important point: Australia’s aid and diplomatic spending, particularly in the Pacific, should count as part of its broader security effort. He’s right, and we should take that one step further.
Australia’s investment in international digital infrastructure closes development gaps, helping us deliver on the core promise of the Pacific family: that alignment with Australia will bring real, tangible improvements to people’s lives.
Digital infrastructure influences every sector of modern economies, including health, education, e-commerce and public administration. Connectivity helps governments govern, enables trade and services, and strengthens national resilience. At the same time, it reinforces Australia’s role as the partner of choice in a region where strategic competition is sharpening.
The Coral Sea Cable System is a clear example. Funded by Australia and completed in 2019, the 4,700-kilometre fibre-optic cable links Sydney with Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands, including a domestic network across Solomon Islands. Since going live, wholesale bandwidth prices in PNG have dropped by more than 87 percent. This is a transformative shift in digital capacity, enabling cheaper internet, stronger institutions and a more connected region, all delivered through strategic finance rather than defence kit.
But that system is just one node in a larger network. Through the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific (AIFFP), Canberra has committed more than $2 billion to infrastructure projects, with a growing digital focus. That includes support for a new submarine cable for East Timor; a spur linking Palau to the US–Singapore cable; and funding for the Central Pacific Connect initiative, which includes a new cable to Tuvalu. The AIFFP also backs technical studies and pre-deployment work, helping Pacific partners make informed decisions about connectivity that supports their sovereignty.
Australia’s recent launch of the Cable Connectivity and Resilience Centre, backed by $18 million over four years, is another example. Housed within the Department of Foreign Affairs Trade, the centre helps Pacific countries manage cable infrastructure securely through technical support, regulatory advice and training. It builds local capacity to resist coercion or sabotage and reinforces Australia’s role in the Quad Security Dialogue’s commitment to trusted infrastructure.
This approach aligns with thinking already present inside DFAT, where digital infrastructure is increasingly seen as foundational to development, diplomacy and security. That coherence needs to carry through into how Australia presents its contributions to AUKUS and regional stability more broadly.
For Pacific countries, these are nation-building projects. For Australia, they are trust-building ventures that also serve shared strategic interests. They create real dependencies, shared governance and long-term partnerships that commercial telecommunications companies or strategic competitors can’t replicate. They also help ensure that critical infrastructure remains visible, sovereign and accountable.
AUKUS has prompted much discussion about submarines, missiles and advanced technologies. But beyond platforms, deterrence in the Indo-Pacific is about presence. It’s about digital, physical and institutional infrastructure that helps states operate confidently and resist coercion.
By that standard, Australia is doing more than it gets credit for. To give Washington an accurate picture of Canberra’s contribution to collective security, we need to look beyond the defence budget line item. This will require us to consider the cables, data centres, governance systems and digital architecture that Australia is helping to build across the region.
Cables are not just conduits for data; they’re enablers of government, commerce and public trust. If they’re compromised, everything else follows. Investing in their reach, security and resilience is a frontline defence measure.
This isn’t an argument to rebadge DFAT’s digital portfolio as defence spending, but rather a call for strategic clarity. If modern deterrence relies on connectivity, inclusion and resilience against grey zone threats, then infrastructure investments in the Pacific serve a dual purpose and should be recognised as such.
Australia often says it’s stepping up in the Pacific. These cables, grants and finance mechanisms show that this is more than just talk. They give form to the values we claim to represent: transparency, trust, capability and choice. If we want to lead on AUKUS Pillar Two technologies, build trusted regional ecosystems and outpace coercive infrastructure strategies, we’ll need to keep connecting the dots—and the islands.
Aid isn’t just charity, and cables aren’t just infrastructure. Together, they form a strategic operating system for Australia’s regional relationships, and they’re already doing the work of deterrence.