Ministry Of External Affairs Seeks DoT’s Stand On Huawei

Ahead of PM Narendra Modi’s expected meeting with US President Donald Trump at the G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan, the ministry of external affairs (MEA) has asked the telecom department to clear the air over participation of Chinese equipment vendor Huawei in 5G, while also asking for possible areas for cooperation with America and Japan in the latest mobile technology.

MEA has sought the clarification from telecom secretary Aruna Sundararajan so that inputs can be “factored into the preparatory material to be sent to the PMO,” a communication from the MEA, seen by TOI, says. The move comes at a time when there are “serious concerns” within a section of the government that data of Indian citizens and enterprises could be compromised and accessed by the Chinese establishment if Huawei is allowed to participate in 5G network deployment.

A high-level committee is looking into the matter of Huawei’s participation in 5G trials that are expected to begin soon. The committee is headed by the principal scientific adviser, and has senior officials from the intelligence bureau, MEA, home ministry, IT & telecom ministries, and the cyber security wing.

The US has been firm in its stand against the Chinese vendor, and has even pursued other governments across the world to follow a similar approach in dealing with the company when it comes to 5G equipment.

MEA is seeking information on how India can strengthen the work with American and Japanese vendors on 5G technology. The view is being sought in view of the planned trilateral summit between India, US and Japan on the sidelines of the G-20 summit.

“… the US and the Japanese side have, inter alia, suggested discussing issues of 5G, where India’s position on rollout of 5G network and choice of 5G equipment may come up for discussion… In particular, DoT may suggest possible response in case the other sides seek to know India’s views on Huawei,” the MEA note says.

Interestingly, the telecom secretary met a senior official from American telecom equipment provider Cisco on Monday, a sign that the government is trying to find synergies with US telecom companies. While Huawei has already presented its case on data security to the government, top officials in the telecom ministry say that threats regarding its 5G network “are real” and cannot be passed off as mere suspicions.

The officials say 5G, “being a more pervasive technology”, will have greater interaction with devices, individuals, and businesses, making the threat around security and data leakage even more serious.―Times of India