US security officials are urging allies to also ban the Chinese tech companies because of fears Beijing could exploit the revolutionary technology for espionage.
However, Britain’s cyber security reportedly believes the risk posed by Huawei and ZTE can be mitigated by testing products, with the chief of MI6 recently saying the decision was “complicated” and in part not helped by Huawei being one of just a few suppliers.
Diplomatic strains
Mr Turnbull said Australia was the first nation to ban Huawei and ZTE.
“We so decided not because another country told us to, let alone for protectionist reasons, but to defend our own sovereignty and to hedge against changing times,” he said.
“It is important to remember that a threat is the combination of capability and intent. Capability can take years, decades to develop. And in many cases won’t be attainable at all. But intent can change in a heartbeat.”
Mr Turnbull said he had raised frequently in conversations with leaders the problem posed that countries now relied on just four 5G equipment providers: Huawei and ZTE, and Europe’s Ericsson and Nokia.
Mr Turnbull, whose latter part of his prime ministership was marked by diplomatic strains with Beijing, said the South China Sea remained a source of tension.
“China’s advance to establish and militarise these islands on the various reefs they claim in the South China Sea is essentially creating forward operating bases, which they would see as essential to their defence,” he said.
“It is unrealistic to believe China will withdraw from any of these features.”
Foreign influence register
One of Mr Turnbull’s initiatives that raised China’s ire was the foreign influence transparency register, which has gone public this week.
Former defence minister and Liberal leader Brendan Nelson is the first ex-politician to register, listing his membership of French defence giant Thales’ local advisory board.
Lobbying firms Hawker Britton and Barton Deakin have registered because they act on behalf of majority Norwegian government oil and gas company Equinor, while Sydney University’s US Studies Centre has registered because it has a contract from the US State Department to conduct seminars and workshops on the Indo-Pacific.
Curiously, a retired management consultant named David Palmer has registered because of advocacy on behalf of a 9/11 conspiracy theory group.
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