US lawmaker warns Washington may shift Air Force assets away from Britain over Huawei national security concerns
- Senator Tom Cotton says the case for ‘heavy laydown’ of Air Force assets in Britain was already being debated in Washington
- ‘It would be a mistake for any British lawmaker to misinterpret this potential realignment of US forces as a bluff,’ he says
Senator Tom Cotton warned that the US is considering shifting Air Force assets away from Britain over national security concerns of China’s Huawei Technologies’ involvement in the European country’s 5G networks.
In rare testimony in front of the British House of Commons Defence Sub-Committee, the Republican lawmaker from Arkansas said the case for “heavy laydown” of Air Force assets in Britain was already being debated in Washington.
“Senior US officials are realising our troops will face an operational security risk in the United Kingdom that they wouldn’t otherwise face in the Pacific,” referring to Britain’s exposure to Huawei.
“And I say all this as a long-time defender and friend of our special relationship: it would be a mistake for any British lawmaker to misinterpret this potential realignment of US forces as a bluff or a simple messaging effort,” Cotton said.
01:36
Chinese engineers from Huawei, China Mobile build world’s highest 5G base station on Mount Everest
“Today we judge the threats in the western Pacific to be more severe than threats in Europe,” he said. “China is a graver long-term threat to international peace and stability than Russia. So in the coming years, the United States plans to increase our defensive posture in the Pacific. This build-up may require us to shift assets from other commands.”