Spatial pattern of global submarine cable network and identification of strategic pivot and strategic channel  

作　　者：XIE Yongshun WANG Chengjin 

机构地区：[1]Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research,CAS,Beijing 100101,China [2]College of Resources and Environment,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100049,China

出　　处：《Journal of Geographical Sciences》2023年第4期719-740,共22页地理学报（英文版）

基　　金：National Natural Science Foundation of China,No.42071151;Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences,No.XDA20010101。

摘　　要：As a kind of large-scale connectivity infrastructure,submarine cables play a vital role in international telecommunication,socio-economic development and national defense security.However,the current understanding about the spatial pattern of global submarine cable network is relatively limited.In this article,we analyze the spatial distribution and connectivity pattern of global submarine cables,and identify their strategic pivots and strategic channels.The main conclusions are as follows:(1)The spatial distribution of global submarine cables is significantly unbalanced,which is characterized by the facts that the distribution of submarine cable lines is similar to that of sea lanes,and the agglomerations of landing stations are distributed unevenly along the coastline.(2)The connectivity pattern of global submarine cable network has a significant scale effect.At the micro,meso and macro scales,the connectivity structure presents chain model,cluster model and hub-and-spoke model,respectively.(3)The distribution of strategic pivots and strategic channels shows a pyramidal hierarchical feature.Singapore ranks highest among all the strategic pivots,while the Gulf of Aden and the Strait of Malacca rank highest among the strategic channels.Based on the identification of strategic pivots and channels,six strategic regions have been divided,which face various network security risks and need special attention and vigilance.

关 键 词：submarine cable network spatial pattern strategic pivot strategic channel global scale 

分 类 号：P756.1[天文地球—海洋科学]