Huawei is still in the sights of Washington, which has just sent a delegation to London to try to convince the country not to use the firm's equipment in its 5G deployment. Nevertheless, the tone seems particularly acerbic with this country, delicate because of its exit from the treaties of the European Union.
Credits: Kurlis Dambrins via Flickr
Since the beginning of the trade war and sanctions against Huawei, the United States has been constantly trying to convince its allies not to use the Chinese manufacturer's technologies to deploy its 5G network. A wishful thinking in front of many partners. To do without Huawei completely is very complicated in this matter, and condemns the countries that make this choice to fall behind on the deployment of the technology.
Thus, in the face of accusations of espionage that could never really be proven, the European partners almost all sent an end to the American grievances. This does not prevent them from being careful: For example, France has passed a law that requires operators to apply for an authorization from the SGDSN for strategic equipment installations.
Will the United Kingdom be able to stand up to the United States?
Nevertheless, within the 27, a state seems to have far less free rein to stand up to the United States. Of course, there is talk of the UK still mired in Brexit – Prime Minister Boris Johnson hopes to forge a free trade agreement with the US as soon as the country leaves the European Union. But this weakness, the United States seems to have decided to exploit it in this matter.
A few days ago, U.S. Senator Tom Cotton (Republican Party), politically close to Donald Trump, unveiled a bill that, if passed, could prohibit intelligence services from collaborating with countries that have deployed Huawei equipment for their 5G. However, in this difficult context, the United Kingdom has repeatedly postponed the choice of its equipment for its 5G network.
The country is expected to announce its choices by the end of January. To add some pressure, an American delegation, including Matt Pottinger, a US security adviser, has just made the trip to London. According to BFM Business, the idea would be to "convince the British authorities of the merits of the spying charges (which have never been proven) by the Chinese giant".
However, London is showing some form of resistance, as evidenced by the words of THE head of MI 5 Andrez Parker, who estimated on Monday that the use of certain Huawei 5G equipment would not threaten the country's access to US intelligence. The UK is part of the Anglo-Saxon five Eyes security alliance, and losing access to US intelligence could jeopardize its participation in several security organizations and programs involving the US.
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For its part, 10 Downing Street explains "continue to reflect on its position" on this issue and will announce its decision "in due course".
Source: BFM Business