Asean nations will consider Huawei as 5G supplier despite security questions, official says
- Bloc of Southeast Asian countries have not felt pressure from US to prevent Chinese firm’s involvement, deputy secretary general Aladdin Rillo says
- US has been lobbying nations not to use Huawei’s technology, but Rillo ‘hopes to offer level playing field’
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) sees next-generation 5G as a game-changer for e-commerce, fintech and smart city developments, and could use the Chinese telecoms maker as a supplier even though restrictions have been placed on the company by the United States, Asean’s deputy secretary general Aladdin Rillo told the South China Morning Post.
“Huawei, like others, is a key player and would definitely help us in this regard, and we want to take advantage of that,” Rillo said in an interview at the Huawei Cybersecurity Transparency Centre in Brussels last week.
“Whether [the claim of Huawei posing a security threat] has a basis or not, we don’t know, but we hope to make sure to give a level playing field to all.”
Rillo’s European tour included a visit to Huawei’s centre, which opened a year ago at the heart of the European Union as it tries to win over government leaders to use its service and fight back against US allegations that its equipment poses a national security risk.