Australia’s Christmas Island to Get Google Data Center

Google is going all-in on a massive data center Down Under.

The technology giant is planning to build an artificial intelligence center on Australia’s Christmas Island, Reuters reported. The news comes after the company inked a three-year cloud agreement with Australia’s Department of Defense earlier this year.

The projected size, cost and potential uses were not reported.

The Mountain View, California-based firm is nearing a deal to lease land near the island’s airport to build the data center, which includes a deal with a local mining company to meet its energy requirements.

Christmas Island’s location has reportedly made it increasingly crucial in Australia’s monitoring of Chinese submarine and other naval activity in the Indian Ocean.

“The data center is partly to allow you to do the kinds of A.I.-enabled command and control that you need to do in the future, especially if you rely on uncrewed systems for surveillance missions and targeting missions and even engagements,” Bryan Clark, a former U.S. Navy strategist, told Reuters.

In more recent months, Britain’s military announced a similar Google cloud deal, which it said will help increase intelligence sharing with the United States.

Last month, Google applied for environmental approvals to build the first undersea cable connecting Christmas Island to the city of Darwin in northern Australia. The U.S. Marine Corps is based there six months out of the year. U.S. company SubCom, the exclusive undersea cable contractor to the U.S. military, will build the cable; in the past, it connected the U.S. and U.K.’s Diego Garcia military base in the Indian Ocean to a cable reaching from Australia to Oman.

Steve Pereira, president of Christmas Island Shire, said his administration is determining the community impact of the proposed data center before giving final approval for construction. “There is support for it, providing this data center actually does put back into the community with infrastructure, employment and adding economic value to the island,” he said.

— Chris Malone Méndez