Google is building a data center on Australia’s Christmas Island, according to documents and local officials cited by a new Reuters report.
Although many details remain undisclosed, defense experts say a data hub on the island, which is located 350 km south of Indonesia, could enhance Australia’s ability to monitor Chinese submarine and naval activity in the Indian Ocean.
What Is Google Planning for Christmas Island?
Christmas Island officials said Google is in talks to lease land near the airport and has requested long-term energy arrangements for a 7-megawatt facility powered by diesel and renewables.
Planning documents also show Google has proposed “an additional future cable system” linking the island to Asia. Australia’s Department of Infrastructure confirmed the proposal includes connecting the island to Darwin, a city in the Northern Territory of Australia, via subsea cable.
A spokesperson for Google downplayed the size of its planned data center, saying that the Alphabet-owned company is ” not constructing ‘a large artificial intelligence data centre’ on Christmas Island” and adding that more information about the project will be shared soon.
How Would the Data Center Support Defense in the Region?
Christmas Island, an Australian territory, emerged as a key frontline defense position for the Australian Defence Force at a recent military exercise that simulated a Chinese attack on Taiwan.
Bryan Clark, a former U.S. Navy strategist who led the wargames, told Reuters that a forward data node could support AI-enabled command-and-control activities, including the management of uncrewed systems.
He also shared that the presence of subsea cables ensures more bandwidth for communication and greater reliability than a satellite, which could be targeted during crises.
“If you’ve got a data centre on Christmas, you can do a lot of that through cloud infrastructure,” stated Clark.
Ret. Royal Australian Commodore Peter Leavy added that the site could also provide an advantage for monitoring the Straits of Sunda, Lombok and Malacca in Southeast Asia.
“It is a really good location,” he said.