undersea

In addition, an undersea cable connecting Greenland and Denmark will be funded.

That will include ships to monitor and protect undersea cables and pipelines, possibly of a size that Ferguson's is well-suited to build.

Microsoft did not explain what might have caused the damage to the undersea cables, but added that it had been able to rerouted traffic through other paths.

These could allow China to carry out surveillance deep underwater and detect other submarines or even undersea cables without risking its own naval forces.

Besides landing on Taiwan's beaches or launching missile attacks, it could also stage air and sea blockades, or sever undersea communication cables.