US Allies Asked Not To Use Huawei Equipment: WSJ Report


11/23/2018



According to a report published in the Wall Street Journal, wireless and internet providers in the allied countries of the United States have been requested by of not to use any of the telecommunications equipment from China’s Huawei Technologies even as the US government itself is keeping the Chinese tech manufacturer away from the its own country.
 
There have been allegations against the biggest telecom gear maker of the world Huawei, of its closeness with the Chinese government and the potential that the equipment manufactured by it would be used for espionage and these allegations are being closely scrutinised by Western intelligence agencies. This latest advice by the US would further add on to the existing pressure on the Chinese company.
 
According to the WSJ report based on unnamed sources in the government, in friendly countries where Huawei equipment is already in wide use, government officials and telecom companies have been contacted by the U.S. officials about the possible security threats posed by such equipments from the company.
 
Huawei has been largely banned in the US by the US government there from supplying any of its equipment to the government and the contractors. The Chinese  company has also been banned in Australia where the government has asked the company not to participate in and the use of its equipment in its construction of 5G mobile network.
 
While Huawei has been refuting the allegations against it for quite some time now, it has also come under pressure and in the firing line of the US administration partly because of the escalating trade tensions between the United States and China.
 
The WSJ report further claimed that the US government was even deliberating providing financial help for the development of telecommunication in such countries that decide to go with the US and ban the use of telecom equipment made by Chinese companies
 
The news report for states that among the major concerns of the Trump administration is the threat to its security forces from the use of the equipment manufactured by the Chinese company, in countries where it has an active base - including in Germany, Italy and Japan.
 
The department would remain vigilant against any threat to U.S. national security, said a U.S. Department of Commerce spokesman.
 
No immediate comments were available from Huawei
 
But a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, while addressing a regular press conference in Beijing, said that he hoped that the “relevant countries” would provide a “fair and predictable” environment for investment for Chinese companies.
 
22 commercial contracts had been signed by it for development and construction of 5G networks, Huawei had announced earlier this week.
 
The company also announced the opening up of a new information security facility in Germany where secure code reviews would be possible. This is being viewed as a measure by the company at impressing the confidence of the regulators of the country on the company and that the company would be able to take part in the government auction for 5G mobile spectrums.
 
(Source:www.theaustralian.com)