Nikkei wrote that bids to install an undersea cable to connect Pacific islands submitted by Japanese, French, and Chinese companies have been invalidated because the United States, Japan, and Australia raised security concerns over the bids. The Chinese company had tendered the lowest bid and was considered to be in a strong position to win. The bidding took place last year for a project to connect Micronesia, Kiribati, and Nauru using optical cable owned by a consortium of carriers from the three countries with funding from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. Japan’s NEC, France’s Alcatel Submarine Networks, and China’s Huawei Marine submitted bids. The paper wrote that tension between the United States and China is casting a shadow over communications infrastructure development in the world.