UK’s Johnson Seeks U.S.-Led 5G Alliance to Counter China’s Dominance
London Times: “The government has approached Washington about a “D10″ club of democratic partners, based on the G7 plus Australia, South Korea and India.”
Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants the United States to lead an international alliance to build a 5G telecommunications network overcoming the West’s dependence on China. “The government has approached Washington about a ‘D10’ club of democratic partners, based on the G7 plus Australia, South Korea and India,” British newspaper The Times reported Friday.
Prime Minister Johnson’s plea came days after his government ordered an intelligence review into the role of China in the country’s infrastructure. The UK wants to reduce China’s footprint in British telecommunications and other strategic sectors. “The Prime Minister has instructed officials to draw up plans that would reduce China’s involvement in the UK’s infrastructure to zero by 2023,” British newspaper The Telegraph reported last week.
Prime Minister Johnson had previously agreed to allow Chinese technology company Huawei to participate in developing the 5G network in the UK. Huawei currently dominates the global race in 5G technologies, the next generation of mobile communication. The 5G network, once rolled out, will not only run personal mobile devices or self-driven cars but could also control industrial robotics, traffic flows, power plants, and military infrastructure.
London-based The Times reported PM Johnson’s push to a U.S.-led alliance in 5G:
Britain is seeking to forge an alliance of ten democracies to create alternative suppliers of 5G equipment and other technologies to avoid relying on China.
New concerns about Huawei, the Chinese telecoms giant, have increased the urgency of the plan after security officials began a review into its involvement in the mobile network upgrade.
The government has approached Washington about a “D10” club of democratic partners, based on the G7 plus Australia, South Korea and India.
One option would see the club channel investment to technology companies based within its member states. Nokia and Ericsson are the only European suppliers of 5G infrastructure and experts say that they cannot provide 5G kit as quickly or as cheaply as Huawei.
The United States has long been concerned about the penetration of Chinese state-controlled technology firms in telecommunication, aviation, and military networks in the allied countries. Washington was reviewing intelligence cooperation with the UK in light of Huawei’s involvement in country’s 5G network, the media reports said earlier this month.
Huawei is at the forefront of the China’s global spying network, U.S. intelligence believes. “We have evidence that Huawei has the capability secretly to access sensitive and personal information in systems it maintains and sells around the world,” Robert O’Brien, National Security Adviser, revealed in February.
Johnson’s decision is part of a larger strategy to reduce the country’s dependence on China in wake of the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic, the media reports say. Senior British ministers “have begun to draw up “Project Defend” aimed at boosting British self sufficiency in strategic medical and technological sectors,” The Guardian newspaper reported last week.
The move to counter China in 5G roll-out was welcomed by Britain’s ruling Conservatives. “This is very good news and I hope and believe it will be the start of a complete and thorough review of our dangerous dependency on China,” former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith said.
The decision to confront China comes at a times when Beijing is absorbing the territory of Hong Kong, a former British colony. Britain handed over the region to Communist China under the promise of maintaining the rights and liberties of its residents under the “one country, two systems” policy 23 years ago. China has reneged on that pledge, passing a new law on Thursday overriding Hong Kong’s constitution.
Responding to Beijing’s takeover, the UK government is considering granting British citizenship to almost three million Hong Kong residents. “If China imposes this law, we will explore options to allow British Nationals Overseas to apply for leave to stay in the UK, including a path to citizenship,” UK Home Secretary Priti Patel told the parliament on Friday.
Secretary Mike Pompeo invokes Thatcher in warning the UK about Huawei and China
[Cover image via YouTube]
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Comments
The was is with the Chinese Communist Party, not the Chinese people. In fact, the Chinese themselves are the first victims of the Chinese Communists.
A distinction without a difference, as they say. If you are at war with the government, whether hot or economic, you are ipso facto at war with the populace, because they’re the ones who do all of the sweat work.
True.
Sad, because NONE of the Chinese have a choice.
I think the Chinese would be happy to rid themselves of their oppressors. Same with the Iranians.
We should help in any way we can. Unlike that POS obama, who enabled the facists and got THOUSANDS of freedom protesters MURDERED.
Obama Abandoned Iranians When They Fought For Freedom:
https://www.newsweek.com/obama-abandoned-iranians-when-they-fought-freedom-trump-must-not-do-same-985899
What is it that led to the PM’s change of heart?
The CCP of today are no different from the CCP of last year or twenty years ago. No one in the know is surprised by Beijing’s aggressive stance regarding Hong Kong. The CCP gobbled up the Spratleys, menaced Vietnam and Thailand and repeatedly make armed military incursions into India proper.
So, Boris changed his mind. And that change is expansive. He went from Britain may adopt Chinese 5g tech to OMG NO and is now pressing for a commonwealth coalition plus India/US.
My conclusion? Boris now believes that corvid19 is a bioweapon and is reacting to that newly found intelligence.
“What is it that led to the PM’s change of heart?…”
Probably a phone call from PDJT. A stern phone call.
“What is it that led to the PM’s change of heart?”
A change of PM?
I should have expanded on that. I think Boris was following the previous government’s plan initially. Now he is firmly in the saddle and is going beyond his campaign promises.
Agree with that.
I hope this Boris/Trump alliance can last the next few years. The fate of the world depends on it. If the wall against china breaks, I’m going to be looking for retirement property in a third world country because when the SHTF it’s not going to be pretty here, even worse than what is now happening.
I agree.
Our ‘army’ is the GOP. That’s kind of like a mixture of the Keystone Kops and Tijuana policemen.
We have been horribly betrayed. We can easily beat back the left/islamic axis. But we cannot let the GOP in behind the firewall. Worse than a comical cop who is easy to bribe, they are a Trojan Horse.
G7 includes Germany, which I think we can count on to foul things up. Leave out Germany and add Singapore, maybe.
We can lead Germany around by the nose. All we have to do is start withdrawing our soldiers.
I’m surprised to not see New Zealand on the list.
Two good things in here, one of which is the D10 allliance around 5G includes some key nations like Japan and South Korea, India, and Australia. Key both in terms of volume (India) and geopolitical importance in order to make this work and finally seems like enough nations are fully awake to the threat.
The second is the offer of citizenship. If enough people take it up, it’s a double whammy. China loses as the primary economic value of Hong Kong is its human capital and intellectual property, not natural resources or manufacturing base. Mass emigration (and they would try to stop it) would be devastating.
“ The more you tighten your grip, the more star systems will slip through your fingers” -the whole world to Darth Xi (hopefully)
Forgot to complete the thoughts. It’s a double whammy because the rest of the world could pick up a few million Immigrants (and voters) who actually value democracy.
Which the West badly needs right now as we seen inclined to favor immigrants intent on tearing things down not embracing our values.
I’m somehow reminded of how London replaced Amsterdam as the world’s financial center — by losing a war! What went down in history as the Glorious Revolution was actually, if you look at the facts rather than the rhetoric, a successful Dutch invasion of the UK.
William of Orange, having successfully taken the UK’s crown, rather than going back to the Netherlands settled down in London and made it his seat of government. So all the Amsterdam trading houses set up offices there, which soon became their corporate headquarters, turning Amsterdam into a financial backwater.
I would welcome residents of Hong Kong with open arms the way England has done. However, I think they want to stay in their home. Trouble is that I don’t think they are going to get a fight back from Europe to defend their way of life in the region.
That is really what should be done, though. China will get their way, either way. They will absorb all of Hong Kong’s resources and probably part of its citizenry that choose to stay in their home and submit to tyranny. They will also flood the country with their own army of drones allegiant to the CCP.
The West needs to form an economic partnership with countries included that have real freedom.
Exclude all communist and dictatorial regimes starting with china.
Wonder how this news will be taken by all those lunatics who are convinced 5G is what’s killing people?
Networks value is in inteoperation. You have to interoperate a lot to net over the costs of putting in 5G.
The leverage is where the use is. If somebody’s gonna exploit the first-world’s using data, it’s gonna be us, dammit.