U.K. Home Secretary Is Aligning With the U.S. Over Huawei Ban
U.K. Home Secretary Is Aligning With the U.S. Over Huawei Ban
(Bloomberg) -- U.K. Home Secretary Sajid Javid signaled the U.K. may take a tougher stance with Chinese telecoms equipment provider Huawei Technologies Co than its European allies.
“We’ve already seen some of our closest intelligence partners -– such as the U.S. and Australia -- set out their decisions on access to their networks,” Javid said in a speech in London Monday. “These are countries we must continue to co-ordinate closely with. I share some of their concerns and am certainly taking them into account as this government makes a final decision on 5G.”
The U.S. has been urging its allies to exclude the vendor entirely from 5G networks, arguing that China’s government could use it for espionage or disrupting critical infrastructure, allegations the company has denied. The U.K. has not yet made a decision -- and any imminent announcement could overshadow U.S. President Donald Trump’s state visit.
Back in February, the head of the U.K.’s foreign-intelligence agency gave the strongest hint yet that he will not press for an outright ban on Chinese telecom giant. That suggests that while the U.K. could toughen the rules under which Huawei operates in the country, it maystop short of an outright ban. The eagerly-awaited decision has been controversial as a leak on its contents led to May firing her defense secretary.
Javid’s comments are significant for two reasons. He is the second member of the National Security Council of senior ministers to suggest a more hawkish approach to the Chinese telecoms supplier. He is also expected to run for Theresa May’s job given that her days as prime minister are numbered.
Trump turned up the pressure on his allies last week when he signed an executive order to curb Huawei’s access to the U.S. market and American suppliers. Trump is due in London on June 3 to meet May and Huawei is likely to feature high on the agenda for talks.
The U.K. is part of the so-called “Five Eyes” intelligence partnership between the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Canada and has been seeking to balance its obligations to its partners, alongside concerns about driving up the price of telecoms to consumers.
To contact the reporter on this story: Kitty Donaldson in London at kdonaldson1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Flavia Krause-Jackson, Andrew Langley
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