Asia Submarine-cable Express (ASE)/Cahaya Malaysia

Overview

Asia Submarine-cable Express (ASE), also known as Cahaya Malaysia, is a regional submarine cable system spanning 8,148 kilometres across East and Southeast Asia. It connects China, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore, serving one of the world's most densely trafficked intra-Asian maritime corridors.

Route and Landings

In China, the cable lands at Tseung Kwan O. Japan is served by two landing stations, at Komesu and Maruyama. In Malaysia, the cable comes ashore at Mersing, while the Philippines landing is located at Daet. Singapore is served by a landing at Changi South.

Ownership and Operators

ASE/Cahaya Malaysia is jointly owned by four telecommunications operators: NTT, PLDT, Starhub, and Telekom Malaysia. NTT is Japan's dominant telecommunications group with an extensive international infrastructure portfolio. PLDT is the principal fixed-line carrier in the Philippines, Starhub is a Singaporean operator, and Telekom Malaysia is Malaysia's national telecommunications company — the "Cahaya Malaysia" name reflects the latter's involvement in the system.

Technical Profile

The cable system has a total length of 8,148 kilometres, making it a mid-length intra-regional system suited to the relatively compact geography of East and Southeast Asia.

Status and Timeline

ASE/Cahaya Malaysia entered service in 2012 and is currently operational. It connects five countries across six landing stations.

Regional Context

The China–Japan–Malaysia–Philippines–Singapore corridor is served by several systems of varying scale. ASE/Cahaya Malaysia, at 8,148 kilometres, is considerably shorter than multi-region peers such as EAC-C2C (36,500 km, RFS 2002), Asia-America Gateway (20,000 km, RFS 2009), and Asia Africa Europe-1 (25,000 km, RFS 2017), all of which share one or more of the same country landings. This positions ASE as a focused intra-Asian system rather than a long-haul intercontinental route. Across 139 ping tests conducted over the last 60 days, the cable recorded an average round-trip latency of 100 milliseconds, with a best-recorded figure of 32 milliseconds, consistent with the distances involved between its five country endpoints.

Strategic Role

By connecting six landing points across China, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore through a single cable system, ASE/Cahaya Malaysia provides direct intra-Asian connectivity among a group of countries with substantial bilateral telecommunications traffic. The dual landing configuration in Japan — at both Komesu and Maruyama — offers geographic diversity at the Japanese end of the system, while Malaysia's Mersing landing underpins the country's role as a transit point within the broader Southeast Asian cable network.