Australia’s new foreign minister Marise Payne supports blocking Chinese telcos from 5G network, citing national security
There are significant fears that Huawei and other Chinese telcos could be forced by Chinese security services to help with intelligence gathering under new laws passed last year
Australia’s new foreign affairs minister, Marise Payne, has defended a decision that shut Chinese telecommunications giants out of Australia’s 5G network, saying it was necessary to protect national security.
The decision to bar Huawei and ZTE from supplying equipment to Australia’s 5G network was made amid the Liberals’ leadership ructions late last week, meaning it was largely overshadowed by the political turmoil.
But the decision did not go unnoticed abroad. It angered the Chinese government, which labelled it wrong and said it would compromise business relationships.
“The Australian government has made the wrong decision and it will have a negative impact to the business interests of China and Australia companies,” China’s commerce ministry said in a statement on its website.
The Australian government has made the wrong decision and it will have a negative impact
Payne, who will soon be sworn in as foreign affairs minister, on Monday defended the decision, saying it was not targeted specifically at Huawei and ZTE. She said it applied to any company that had obligations that clashes with Australia’s national security.