简体中文
A US intelligence document from 2012 is reportedly being cited by Indian security agencies and media to cast doubt on Chinese telecom companies operating in India.
The move has prompted speculation about the timing of this move and whether it is linked to the ongoing border standoff between Chinese and Indian troops.
New Delhi-based The Sunday Guardian reported that Indian security services approached the government to raise concerns about the penetration of Chinese telecom companies in India’s military and telecommunications sector.
Copies of the "Investigative Report on the US National Security Issues posed by Chinese Telecommunications Companies Huawei and ZTE" are seen on a table in the House Visitors Center of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on October 8, 2012.
Quoting unnamed security sources, the report claimed the agencies were particularly worried about the reach of two Chinese companies – Huawei and ZTE – not only in the Indian telecom sector but also in the military.
“Sources within the security establishment say that more than 60% of the software and hardware related to telecom being used in India, including by the state-managed BSNL, is either manufactured by Huawei or by ZTE, which are China’s two largest telecom companies," the Guardian report said.
"One of the major red flags raised by the security agencies is about Huawei’s supposed links with China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA),” it said.
The unnamed sources claimed that Huawei is “very deeply” involved with the PLA.
The allegations are identical to ones made in a 2012 US House Intelligence Committee panel report.
Why have these concerns been raised now?
The development assumes significance in the wake of the two-months long Donglang standoff between the Indian and the Chinese forces.
Although this is not the first time that this issue has been raised in India, the fact that it has resurfaced now is signifcant in light of the two-month long border standoff at Donglang between Indian and Chinese forces.
In a related development, India's Ministry of Electronics and IT last week directed 21 smartphone makers, most of which are Chinese, to inform it about the procedures and processes they follow to ensure the security of mobile phones sold in India, following reports of data leakage and theft, The Economic Times reported.
New Delhi gave Huawei the necessary security clearance to manufacture telecom equipment in India as recently as July 2015.
The green light came two months after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first official visit to China in May that year, which aimed to establish business ties.
Huawei under attack
In the US, Huawei has been challenged by various government agencies and security officials who claim that Huawei-made telecom equipment is designed to allow unauthorized access by the Chinese government and the PLA.
Huawei has often come under the spotlight from the West since 2005, when the UK’s Conservative Party raised security concerns over its bid for Marconi in 2005.
Huawei was then mentioned as a potential security threat in a 2009 briefing by the UK’s joint intelligence committee.
Australia put Huawei under scrutiny since 2008 and following the 2012 US intelligence report, Canberra decided to ban the Chinese company from bidding for its National Broadband Network due to “international concerns about the company’s links with Chinese authority”.
Soon after, Canada blocked Huawei from the construction of its secure government network.
In the US, Huawei has been challenged by various government agencies and security officials who claim that Huawei-made telecom equipment is designed to allow unauthorized access by the Chinese government and the PLA.
Strong response from Huawei, ZTE
Both Huawei and ZTE havedenied charges of espionage. ZTE earlier released a statement pointing out that “virtually all of the telecom infrastructure equipment now sold in the US and throughout the world contains components made, in whole or in part, in China.”
Fears about Chinese espionage via Huawei may possibly stem from the fact that the company’s founder, Ren Zhengfei, is a former PLA member. However, Huawei has repeatedly denied these claims and stressed that it is 100% owned by its employees and founder.
At a hearing of the US House Intelligence Committee following the 2012 report, both Huawei and ZTE rejected fears that their expansion into the US was a security risk and said they operated independently from the Chinese government.
The same year, Huawei released a report on cyber security insisting it has never been involved in illegal spying activities.
In that report, the Chinese telecom company asserted that it has “never damaged any nation, or had the intent to steal any national intelligence, enterprise secrets or breach personal privacy” and would not tolerate illegal activity.
ZTE also released a statement pointing out that “virtually all of the telecom infrastructure equipment now sold in the US and throughout the world contains components made, in whole or in part, in China.”
Espionage charges against both Chinese companies have remained conjecture and no concrete proof to show either of these companies have been involved in any wrongdoing has ever been produced.
Political and economic tug of war
Huawei is the largest telecommunications equipment manufacturer in the world, having overtaken Ericsson in 2012 - and ZTE, the fifth largest.
Many commentators think that without firm evidence much of the worries over security concerning Chinese companies is politically and economically motivated in nature.
Economically, Huawei is the largest telecommunications equipment manufacturer in the world - having overtaken Ericsson in 2012 – and ZTE, the fifth largest.
The concern for some now is that with India using an outdated US security report to discredit China, the ongoing border spat may start creeping into other spheres of bilateral relations.
(CGTN)
