canary islands submarine cable western sahara

Cable to link Canary Islands and Africa sparks Western Sahara row

Compiled with the help of artificial intelligence, based on Spanish-language information. Source below the article.

Undersea cable project moves forward

The Canary Islands continue to roll out a new submarine fibre optic cable that will connect Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote with the Moroccan coast at Tarfaya. However, the location of the connection point introduces a geopolitical dimension to the project. Tarfaya lies just 35 kilometres from the border of Western Sahara, and that proximity opens up the possibility that the infrastructure could one day be extended into the territory – a hypothesis that has gained traction after Moroccan media named Bojador, in Western Sahara, among potential connection points for the network.

Any future extension would raise questions about the legal framework applicable and the scope of Moroccan investment in an area whose international status remains disputed. The project, dubbed the ‘Eastern Islands Ring’, will expand fibre capacity in the Canaries. Canalink is responsible for installing two independent transoceanic cables that will strengthen links between the Islands, while also serving as a digital node between Europe and Africa, boosting connectivity across the Atlantic coasts.

Not the first Morocco link

This is not the first submarine cable connection between the Archipelago and Morocco – back in 2012, a cable was laid to Asilah, in the north of the country. Now Morocco is reaffirming its intention to use this opportunity to connect its “southern provinces” – the term Rabat uses for the Western Sahara territory under its control – justifying the possibility by the need to strengthen and modernise its telecommunications network in the north of the country.

Canarian government response

The Canarian government has already responded firmly to the controversy. “What we have agreed is to take it to Tarfaya, not at any point to anywhere in Western Sahara,” said Fernando Clavijo last year, when concerns first emerged about a possible extension that could bring legal complications if the infrastructure were eventually to be extended further south than originally agreed.

Tense backdrop in Spain-Morocco relations

The issue comes at a time of renewed tension between Spain and Morocco. The mass arrival of migrants in Ceuta in late July 2026 led the Spanish government to speak of a “violation of territorial integrity”, although Madrid and Rabat have maintained cooperation to control the border and manage returns. The episode has once again put the spotlight on a bilateral relationship in which, despite the diplomatic rapprochement of recent years, issues such as Western Sahara and the situation of Ceuta and Melilla remain particularly sensitive.

EU court ruling on Western Sahara

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has established that Western Sahara has a separate and distinct status from Morocco, and that the application of agreements between the European Union and Morocco to that territory requires the consent of the Sahrawi people. In October 2024, the court confirmed this position when ruling on the trade and fishing agreements between Brussels and Rabat. The precedent does not automatically mean that a future extension of the cable would be illegal, but it does highlight the complex legal framework that any Morocco-linked infrastructure projected onto Western Sahara could face.

Project details and funding

Meanwhile, the project in the Canary Islands is proceeding and is already in the deployment phase. The so-called ‘Ring’ has a total budget of €34 million, of which €23 million comes from EU funds. If Morocco were to decide to use this new infrastructure as a starting point to extend its network towards Western Sahara, the issue could open a new legal front over the application of European doctrine to the territory, although Spanish responsibility would not be automatic and would depend on how any such extension were executed and financed.

The ‘Ring’ project stems from the need to improve the Canary Islands’ digital infrastructure: 553 kilometres of fibre optic cable that will run along the seabed, linking the islands via two separate routes. Cable one connects Ojos de Garza, in Gran Canaria, with the Fuerteventura capital Puerto del Rosario, and Playa Honda in Lanzarote. Cable two runs from Barranco de Tenoya, also in Gran Canaria, to Corralejo and Playa Blanca, in Fuerteventura and Lanzarote respectively. Both lines join a larger network linked to the Spanish mainland and, by extension, the rest of the continent.

Redundancy and completion date

This international connectivity will bring an important advantage: redundancy in telecommunications. This means that if one connection is interrupted by a technical fault, the network can reroute traffic through another path without affecting users, thanks to its greater capacity. It is a priority capability for an insular and ultra-peripheral territory such as the Canary Islands. Canalink, the public company specialising in underwater connectivity, will complete its work in 2028.

With this development, the Canary Islands consolidates its transformation into a hub for global information traffic, in an environment where around 95% of internet traffic travels under the sea. The company – which is dependent on the Cabildo of Tenerife through the Instituto Tecnológico y de Energías Renovables (ITER) – has funding from the European CEF Digital programme, which covers two-thirds of the budget. Through this project, the entity will guarantee inter-island interconnection across the entire Archipelago.

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