Growing dependence on Huawei

Yeo Jun-suk

The Korea Herald, South Korea

With the United States continuing to warn its European allies against deploying equipment from China's Huawei, debate is taking place over the 5G race among South Korean telco companies and how the government should respond.

The Trump administration is seeking to prevent US companies from using Chinese telecom equipment to establish 5G networks and is pressuring its allied countries to do the same.

Some US allies are mulling over similar steps against Huawei - including Australia and New Zealand, which have prohibited their wireless carriers from installing Huawei gear as 5G network infrastructure. Canada is considering similar measures amid a diplomatic feud with China.

The UK, on the other hand, decided that it could use Huawei equipment and "mitigate the risks" - a conclusion that commentators say could sway other European nations to view the use of the Chinese components as safe as long as they take "due precautions".

Experts here have offered divergent opinions.

The Korean government maintains that the decision is up to local telecom companies, which unlike carriers in the US operate their own wireless network systems. During a meeting with lawmakers in October, the ICT Ministry expressed the view that it was not the government's place to conduct security inspections.

As Korea's three telecom giants gear up for the commercial roll-out of 5G networks next month, LG Uplus is the only company that is using Huawei equipment.

According to LG Uplus, since subscriber information is stored exclusively in a cable network manufactured by Samsung Electronics, foreign attackers cannot steal the data. The company has also conducted education sessions for employees on how to address security concerns.

While Korean companies using Huawei equipment have not reported any security breaches, experts have expressed concern about the country's increasing dependence on the Chinese vendor for its network infrastructure.

SK Telecom and KT employ Huawei equipment for some of their cable networks. Last year, KT decided to adopt Huawei gear to establish a network for financial institutions such as Nonghyup. SK Telecom uses Huawei equipment for its wired network.

Huawei has also made a foray into South Korea's efforts to build an ITC infrastructure for its public transit systems.

Those who oppose the use of Huawei products for local networks allege that there has been an increase in hacking in recent years. Government statistics released by an opposition lawmaker in October showed some 16,000 hacking attempts were suspected to have originated from Beijing since 2014.

Meanwhile, there are experts here who contend that the government needs to take a central role in the growing controversy. Yet others caution against taking sides in the politically sensitive US-China rivalry.

People will benefit

Tulsathit Taptim

The Nation, Thailand

Are you excited about this "new world" of 5G, or concerned? Do you want 5G to go ahead as soon as possible or not? If Huawei's involvement in the development of 5G speeds up both responses, in other words making our daily lives easier but security harder, what would you say? You want Huawei out of the picture - thus disrupting 5G development - or you couldn't care less?

The answers could determine the scale of Huawei's involvement in the ongoing preparations for 5G. They may also set a new course for technological development, which has for decades been dictated by tech superpowers who wage wars and destructive espionage while ironically warning that wars and espionage are what will happen if new technologies fall into the wrong hands.

The loudest alarms are coming from the United States. Yes, of all countries. There is the thinnest of lines between security concerns and not wanting China to do well. Huawei is rooted in a country deemed by Washington to be a major economic and political threat. If its telecom clout keeps growing, the world order could be greatly affected.

China may be as ambitious as the US fears, and Huawei can actually help Beijing undermine US national security using 5G technology. China, after all, is ploughing ahead on the technology. Its government has supported the development of 5G, believing it will change the world as we know it. The US government, for all its poor diplomatic and strategic moves of late on the global stage, harbours fears that are somewhat justified.

The US' problem is how to make the rest of the world care. It is having a tough time trying to convince countries that a spying China is more dangerous than a spying America.

Development of electric vehicles has been slow because of oil and its importance to the world order, and because of the fact that consumers using petrol-fuelled cars are reluctant to change.

5G is a different case altogether, because it is wanted by consumers, and in a market where demand really drives supply. If that market is more worried about security, the US will win. If it doesn't care that much, Huawei can come out on top.

Whatever it is - a trade war, or a political showdown, or a bit of both with global supremacy as the ultimate goal - a buyer's market appears to be around the corner.

Canberra's conspiracy theory

Editorial

China Daily, China

It seems to be contagious - no sooner does one Western politician engage in some character assassination of China than another pops up to do the same.

(On Monday), Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison alleged that a "sophisticated state actor" was behind a cyber attack on the Australian Parliament's computing network. Although he did not name it, it has been assumed that he was insinuating China was responsible, given this is not the first time that Canberra's anxiety-driven willingness to emulate Washington has prompted it to lay the responsibility for alleged spying at Beijing's door.

It is hard not to view the calumny as orchestrated. Western politicians seem willing to speak ill of China because they feel their countries are being elbowed aside as it rises. Even though China has never exerted any force to make room for itself and has invited them to accompany it on its journey of rejuvenation.

It is natural for people to feel anxious about changing circumstances over which they feel they have no control. But these conspiracy theories that portray China as aggressively seeking to infiltrate Western networks and societies hark back to 1950s comic books, and they are as far-fetched now as they were back then.

• The View From Asia is a compilation of articles from The Straits Times' media partner Asia News Network, a grouping of 23 news organisations.