US warns versus Huawei, other China firms in PHL’s telco infrastructure

US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo on Friday warned the Philippine government against entering deals or contracts with Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei amid allegations that the tech firm could be used by the Chinese government for spying.

In a bid to persuade the Philippines to shun the Chinese company, Pompeo said American companies were the “best partners” when it came to infrastructure, development and digital economy because they followed the highest standards of transparency and adhered to the rule of law.

“The same can not be said for Chinese state-run or state-backed enterprises,” Pompeo said in Manila.

The Philippine government recently entered into a P20-billion contract with state-owned China International Telecommunication Construction Corporation (CITCC) for the “Safe Philippines” emergency response and monitoring system.

Huawei will provide the equipment, including CCTV cameras.

Philippine lawmakers raised concerns that the system could be exploited  by the Chinese government as Huawei would have access to sensitive information.

The US has repeatedly warned about Huawei’s next-generation 5G equipment as it was more vulnerable to attacks and could be used for Chinese intelligence-gathering.

The firm has vehemently denied the allegations.

“We believe that competition, whether it be 5G or some other technology ought to be open, free and transparent and we worry that Huawei is not that,” Pompeo said,.

“America may not be able to operate in certain environments if there is Huawei technology adjacent to that," he added.

“Our task has been to share with the world the risks associated with that technology, the risks to the Philippine people, the risks to Philippine security,” Pompeo said.

Pompeo said every nation made their own sovereign policies but countries should be mindful of security threats before they allow Chinese companies to take over communications and technology projects in government.

“We wanna make sure that world has their eyes wide open as to the risks of having that technology be part of the infrastructure or backbone or networks that are transiting communications inside of the country and in fact here and around the world, transiting that information internationally as well,” Pompeo said. —NB, GMA News