South Korea’s Huawei deal concerns senators

The heads of two Senate committees are expressing concern over a supply deal between Chinese telecom giant Huawei and South Korea.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) asked the Obama administration to assess the “potential threats and security concerns” of the deal, according to Reuters.

{mosads}”Maintaining the integrity of telecommunications infrastructure is critical to the operational effectiveness of this important security alliance,” they wrote in the Nov. 27 letter to Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, Secretary of State John Kerry and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, Reuters reported.

The House Intelligence Committee issued a report last year warning that the Chinese government could use Huawei for spying on sabotage.

“Our gear is world-proven and trusted, connecting almost one-third of the world’s population. The motivations of those that might groundlessly purport otherwise are puzzling,” Huawei said in a statement to Reuters.

“Huawei has a proven track record of providing secure products and solutions to our customers. There has never been one incident where Huawei’s commitment to security has ever been called into question.”