The Middle East Institute published in March 2022 a report titled "Connecting Beijing's Global Infrastructure: The PEACE Cable in the Middle East and North Africa" by Thomas Blaubach.
One of the most ambitious elements of China's Digital Silk Road is the Pakistan and East Africa Connecting Europe (PEACE) fiber-optic cable. China has long expressed its ambition to connect the greater Middle East and Europe with Chinese fiber optics in order to expand its presence in the region. Chinese involvement in these and other critical locations of the PEACE cable illustrates the geopolitical importance of undersea fiber-optic cables.
