Google Plans AI Data Centre on Australia’s Christmas Island

Google is planning to build a large artificial intelligence (AI) data centre on Australia’s remote Indian Ocean outpost of Christmas Island, marking a strategic expansion of its cloud infrastructure in one of the region’s most geopolitically sensitive areas. The project follows a cloud services deal Google signed earlier this year with Australia’s Department of Defence, Reuters reported.

According to documents reviewed by Reuters and interviews with officials, the plan—previously undisclosed—would place the data hub roughly 350 kilometres south of Indonesia, positioning it at the crossroads of vital Asia-Pacific maritime routes. While many specifics about the project, including its cost, capacity, and purpose, remain confidential, analysts and defence experts believe the facility could play a critical role in Australia’s regional security strategy.

A Strategic Outpost in the Indian Ocean

Military experts told Reuters that a data centre on Christmas Island would be a valuable asset for monitoring Chinese naval activity in the Indian Ocean. The location, long viewed as a remote territory with limited infrastructure, is increasingly being reimagined by defence planners as a forward line of surveillance and communications for Australia and its allies.

Council records and local officials confirmed to Reuters that Google is in advanced talks to lease land near the island’s airport and to secure power supply through an agreement with a local mining company. The project’s infrastructure and energy requirements suggest the data centre would support large-scale AI workloads, including potentially sensitive command and control operations.

Military Relevance and AI-Driven Command Systems

A recent tabletop war game involving the Australian, U.S., and Japanese militaries underscored the island’s strategic potential. The simulation identified Christmas Island as a key staging ground for “uncrewed weapons systems” and an essential forward base in a potential regional conflict.

Bryan Clark, a former U.S. Navy strategist who oversaw the exercise, told Reuters that having a forward “command and control” node on Christmas Island would be “critical in a crisis with China or another adversary.” He explained that AI-driven command and control systems depend on rapid, reliable data processing—something a local facility could deliver far more effectively than satellite-based systems, which may be vulnerable to interference.

“The data centre is partly to allow you to do the kinds of AI-enabled command and control that you need to do in the future, especially if you rely on uncrewed systems for surveillance missions and targeting missions and even engagements,” Clark, now a Hudson Institute fellow, said in the report.

Connectivity and Resilience

Clark added that the presence of subsea fibre-optic cables linking the island offers a major advantage over satellite communications. Subsea connections provide greater bandwidth and reliability—factors that could prove decisive in a crisis if adversaries attempt to jam satellite networks or disrupt Starlink connectivity.

While Google has not publicly commented on the Christmas Island project, the company’s growing partnerships with defence agencies worldwide reflect a broader trend of cloud providers playing central roles in national security and AI infrastructure development.

If completed, the Christmas Island facility would not only expand Google’s cloud footprint across the Indo-Pacific but could also become a critical node in Australia’s emerging defence and intelligence network—blending commercial AI innovation with military-grade data capabilities.