Trump aide: Unclear if UK has made final decision on Huawei
National security adviser John Bolton said Thursday that British officials may still be undecided on whether to move forward with giving Chinese telecom giant Huawei access to parts of the country’s 5G network.
Bolton told reporters in London that talks are still ongoing about Britain’s future use of the technology, which the U.S. has warned presents security threats, Reuters reported.{mosads}
“I’m not sure that this decision has reached the prime ministerial level in final form. I mean we are still talking,” Bolton said, according to Reuters. “People are talking back and forth.”
“Everybody is catching up to the dangers posed, especially in fifth-generation telecommunications systems, by equipment from Huawei and potentially others that can allow foreign governments a back door into telecommunications systems,” he added.
The U.S. has been urging allies to drop Huawei for months. Intelligence officials have repeatedly expressed concerns that the technology giant may be spying on behalf of the Chinese government.
Trump signed an executive order earlier this month paving the way to block foreign tech companies — such as Huawei — from doing business in the U.S. if they are deemed a national security threat by the Commerce Department.
Britain’s National Security Council met last month to discuss future use of Huawei, where officials agreed to block the company’s access to core parts of the country’s 5G network while giving it limited access to noncore parts.
The rollout of the plan was thrown into uncertainty, however, when Prime Minister Theresa May announced she would resign. May, who chairs the National Security Council, will step down as party leader on June 7, but will remain as prime minister until a successor is chosen.
Trump is slated to meet with May during a state visit next week.
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