U.S threatens to quit the exchange of intelligence information if the UK continues to work with Huawei

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Updated on Mar 11, 2020

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U.S threatens to quit sharing the intelligence information with the UK if it doesn't block Huawei.
Huawei denies all allegations of its equipment being a security threat.
UK's officials had previously decided to not expose key parts of its 5G network to Huawei.
U.S to announce new guidelines that'll limit sharing intelligence information with countries that are working with Huawei.

Sources have confirmed that Britain is being pressurized by the United States to make up their minds about Huawei’s future in the country. As the UK gets closer to bring Huawei onboard for upgrading its 5G telecommunication network, the U.S has gone to the extent of threatening to cut off any exchange of intelligence information in its last desperate attempt to prevent the UK from working with Huawei Technologies.

Britain has to reveal later this month whether they will enter into a contract with Huawei to roll out its countrywide 5G network in 2020. In the interest of weighing options, the U.S. has claimed that Huawei’s equipment can be used to keep tabs on Britain’s relationship with Beijing. However, if the country bans the firm, billions of dollars will be lost to the UK’s economy.

Huawei Denies All Allegations Against Its Equipment Being A Security Threat

On the other hand, Huawei being the world’s largest manufacturer of mobile networking equipment has deemed all such allegations as false while refusing to make any more comments.

It was revealed that Mike Pompeo, the U.S. Secretary of State would personally try and convince Dominic Raab, British Foreign Secretary regarding Huawei at a meeting arranged in Washington.

The U.S. had also delegated responsibility to Matt Pottinger, the deputy national security adviser to take a team and set up a meeting with British officials and discuss the UK’s future with Huawei. Unfortunately, the trip had to be postponed due to poor weather conditions.

The United Kingdom is currently at crossroads. Last year, officials had decided that they would not expose key parts of the 5G network to Huawei and allow them only restricted and supervised access. A final decision regarding the matter, however, is yet to be announced.

A per the defense spending law of the U.S for 2020, President Trump directed the global intelligence agencies to make meticulous in making decisions when it comes to cybersecurity and telecoms infrastructure, specifically the one that is being provided by countries that the U.S. considers its adversaries. For example, Russia and China.

The amendment made by the U.S. President was to warn members of the intelligence-sharing coalition, Five Eyes, which consists of Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and, the U.S. itself.

In recent news, it has been revealed that the Senator’s team is working on a bill that may be passed later this month. It will provide strict guidelines to limit the sharing of intelligence to countries that employ Huawei equipment to upgrade and maintain their 5G networks.