According to Reuters,
British security officials said they were trying to secure Huawei equipment
stockpiles due to concerns that new US sanctions would disrupt the ability to
maintain important supplies from Chinese companies.
British Prime
Minister Boris Johnson is under new pressure from Washington and some
lawmakers in his political party when they say Huawei equipment is
a security risk. Huawei has repeatedly denied the allegations.
Officials at the National
Cyber ​​Security
Center (NCSC) are currently studying the impact of US sanctions announced last
month. These measures are intended to limit Huawei's ability to provide
the advanced ICs needed to produce 5G devices and smartphones.
Senior NCSC officials sent
a letter to the country's telecom operators including BT Group and Vodafone
last week. The letter said to maintain adequate supply of technology
spare parts from all manufacturers.
However, the letter also
emphasized the growing risk of bad future Huawei's ability to supply equipment
under US pressure.
An NCSC spokesman said:
"NCSC has provided operators with a range of precautions that we recommend they take. Meanwhile, we have carefully considered the impact from this measure for UK telecommunication networks."
Huawei Vice President Victor
Zhang said:
"Customers are the number one priority and we are working to ensure uninterrupted business. We strongly oppose US-motivated political actions to damage Huawei without any basis."
BT and Vodafone declined to
comment.
In January, the UK allowed
Huawei to participate in developing 5G networks with a 35% market share in
the country. Officials now say they are looking into specific guidance on
how to deploy Huawei equipment for the best network security in the UK.
The British change has led
officials in China to raise a warning about bilateral relations. Chinese
Ambassador to Britain Liu Xiaoming recently mentioned that Britain plans to
postpone cooperation with Huawei to develop the national 5G infrastructure
program that mentioned the Hinkley Point nuclear power plant development
project.
0 Comments