Google plans to build a large artificial intelligence data centre on Australia's remote Indian Ocean outpost of Christmas Island after signing a cloud deal with the Department of Defence earlier this year,

The search engine giant signed a cloud deal with the Department of Defence this year to build the facility, whose details remain secret, on Christmas Island.

Google applied last month for Australian environmental approvals to build the first subsea cable connecting Christmas Island to the northern Australian city of Darwin, where the US Marine Corps are based for six months of the year.

The company also applied for approval to build a subsea cable connecting the island to Darwin, Australia, where U.S. Marines are stationed part of the year. "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,

The draft National Data Centre Policy 2025, being prepared by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), proposes a range of incentives — including up to 20 years of tax exemptions,