Huawei 5G rethink expected amid warnings of 'close linkage' to China military
Huawei has "close linkage" to the Chinese
military, a former spy chief has told Sky News as he said he expected the
Government to halt the involvement of the tech giant in the UK's 5G network.
Speaking to Sophy Ridge on Sunday, Sir Richard Dearlove, who
led MI6 from 1999 to 2004, said the firm was not an "ordinary
international telecommunications company" but "an intimate part of
the Chinese state".
His comments came as a decision is due to be taken on Huawei
by the National Security Council on Tuesday, with reports of a ministerial
U-turn.
Sir Richard had been strongly opposed to the government's
plan to allow a limited role for the company in the development of Britain's
next-generation mobile phone network, despite acknowledging it is a
"high-risk vendor".
He stressed the need for the UK to "reset" its
entire relationship with Beijing, arguing that as China had become "more
aggressive internationally" there was a need for Britain to become "more
assertive".
Asked if Boris Johnson will revisit his decision to allow
Huawei a limited role in the UK's 5G, Sir Richard told Ridge: "That's
certainly my expectation.
"I mean, I don't have any direct inside knowledge but I
think I'm one of the individuals who has been pressing very hard for Huawei to
be excluded from the UK's 5G."
He added: "The problem is we have had a close
relationship with Huawei dating back, I think, to the year 2000, so getting
Huawei out of the systems can't be done rapidly - it will have to be done
cumulatively over time.
"But it looks to me now as though the government have
changed their view.
"There's a technical aspect to this because since the
American embargo on Huawei was imposed it's not clear that they're going to be
able anyway to provide the 5G equipment on which the system will depend.
"I've always believed that there is a strategic
security reason for not allowing the Chinese that degree of involvement in the
construction of our critical infrastructure."
Sir Richard said the relationship between the Chinese state
and Huawei was "absolutely clear-cut".
He said: "Huawei is not a sort of ordinary
international telecommunications company, it's an intimate part of the Chinese
state.
"And if you know anything about Chinese military
strategy, they talk about the fusion of civil and military capabilities.
"There is a close linkage undoubtedly between the
Chinese military capability and Huawei."
China's cyber attack capability was also "a
threat" to the UK, said Sir Richard.
Pressed over whether Beijing could retaliate over any
decision taken on Huawei, he said: "I wonder whether they would - as it
were - go that far at the moment.
"But of course it is a threat. They have a significant
capability in this area and they can probably do it in a manner where although
you probably know who the culprit is they could... make it deniable and say 'oh
well it wasn't us'.
"Of course, it's a threat and I think we've known quite
significantly that the Chinese have developed this capability and are prepared
to use it."
Comments
Post a Comment