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US expresses disappointment over Chinese 5G network in UK

A photograph shows the logo of Chinese company Huawei at their main UK offices in Reading, west of London, on January 28, 2020. (Photo by AFP)

The United States has expressed disappointment over the United Kingdom's decision to grant Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei a limited role in its 5G mobile
network.

US security officials had warned Britain that allowing China’s Huawei company into its 5G telecommunications networks would pose a security risk to UK’s secret intelligence agencies.

"There is no safe option for untrusted vendors to control any part of a 5G network. We look forward to working with the UK on a way forward that results in the exclusion of untrusted
vendor components from 5G networks," a senior US government official who spoke on condition of anonymity said on Tuesday.

Earlier this month a delegation from the US led by deputy National Security Adviser Matt Pottinger headed to London to offer the Britons new “evidence” proving the inherent “security risks” posed by Huawei.

The US delegation reportedly told the British government it would be “madness” to utilize Huawei technology in the UK’s 5G networks.

For its part, the US government has taken a series of extreme measures against Huawei, including pressuring Canada to arrest Huawei’s deputy chairwoman and chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou.

Wanzhou is currently fighting extradition to the US where she faces financial fraud charges. There is credible speculation that the US is using the charges as a cover to detain Wanzhou with a view to interrogating her on sensitive aspects of Huawei’s operations.

In the meantime, Britain's Security Service known as MI5 (Military Intelligence Section 5), which is responsible for the UK's domestic counter-intelligence and security, has rebuffed the security threat posed by the new 5G networks.

MI5 Director General, Andrew Parker, said there was no reason to accept the US assertion that Britain’s intelligence-sharing relationship with the US is to be threatened when Huawei is given access to the UK’s 5G network.

5G is the latest iteration of cellular technology, engineered to greatly increase the speed and responsiveness of wireless networks. Virtually every major telecommunication service provider in the developed world is deploying 5G antennas or intends to deploy them soon. 


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