Philippines police to launch probe on Huawei spying claims, despite country’s welcoming stance

The chief of the Philippine National Police says he will direct the agency to look into allegations Beijing could use Huawei for espionage

The PNP came under fire in March after being questioned over its choice of Huawei as sponsor for an anti-cybercrime summit

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The Philippines has largely embraced Huawei under the Duterte administration. Photo: Reuters

Published: 6:30pm, 30 Apr 2019Updated: 10:56am, 1 May 2019

The Philippine National Police (PNP) will probe claims that Beijing could use Huawei for spying, its top law enforcement officer has said, in a rare deviation from the Southeast Asian country’s welcoming stance toward the Chinese tech giant.

General Oscar Albayalde on Monday said he would direct the PNP to look into the allegations, after local media questioned the police agency’s choice of Huawei as a sponsor for an anti-cybercrime summit last month.

The remarks came just hours before media outlet Rappler published a leaked memo from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) highlighting the risks of partnering with Huawei, and ahead of a warning by a senior United States official that Washington would reconsider cooperating with allies that partner with the firm.

Police General Oscar Albayalde. Photo: AP

In the memo dated January 25, the DFA noted the Czech Republic and France had limited the use of Huawei products “primarily due to security concerns”.

Robert Strayer, deputy assistant secretary for cyber, international communications and information policy at the US State Department, on Monday told reporters Washington would re-evaluate connectivity and information sharing with Southeast Asian treaty allies using Huawei.