Documents disclosed by Reuters show that Google plans to build a large-scale artificial intelligence data center on Christmas Island, a remote Australian territory, for dual commercial and military purposes. This project stems from the cloud computing cooperation agreement signed between Google and the Australian Department of Defense in July 2025. It is considered an important layout for Australia and the United States to deepen military science and technology cooperation.
Christmas Island is located in the Indian Ocean, about 220 miles away from Indonesia, and covers an area of about 52 square miles. Military experts pointed out that the data center may become a key node for "AI-empowered command and control" in the future, supporting unmanned reconnaissance, target locking and mission decision-making. Brian Clark, a former U.S. Navy strategist and current researcher at the Hudson Institute, said: "Future operations will rely on AI systems for cross-platform collaboration, and this center is the infrastructure to achieve this capability."
Retired Australian Navy Commodore Peter Levy said that the island's geographical location can monitor important waterways such as the Sunda Strait, Lombok Strait and Malacca Strait. Google has applied for an environmental permit and plans to lay an undersea optical cable connecting Christmas Island to Darwin, which will be executed by SubCom, the exclusive contractor for the US military. The company has built communication lines for the Diego Garcia base in the Indian Ocean.
Steve Pereira, chairman of the Christmas Island Local Council, said that the local area is evaluating the impact of the project on the community. There are only about 1,600 residents on the island, with a single economic structure and limited communications. He pointed out: "Residents support the plan on the premise that the project can bring jobs, improve infrastructure and create substantial economic value for the community."
The data center project continues Australia's three-year military cloud cooperation with Google and is similar to the £400 million contract signed by the British Ministry of Defense with Google Cloud in September 2025 to strengthen British and American intelligence sharing. At present, neither Google nor the Australian Department of Defense has commented.