Chinese telecom Huawei has faced scrutiny over the past months due to security-related allegations from the American government. However, many South East Asian telecom operators still opt for the Shenzhen-based company for 5G collaborations.
According to BBC News, a number of Asian telecom providers explained that the reason behind their support for Huawei is "business as usual." These statements came as the Chinese tech giant continues to battle with the U.S. government over spying allegations.
The United States' government accused Huawei of spying for Beijing, with the Justice Department adding that the Chinese company stole some trade secrets. For its part, the Honor creator denied all claims made by the U.S.
Amid ongoing disputes with the U.S. government, most Asian countries refuse to hang up on the Chinese provider. It continues to provide telecoms equipment to Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines for the countries' 5G tests.
Cambodia is another country whose telecom operators are relying largely on Huawei's 4G network. Industry experts suggest that the faith operators show for one of China's most dominant tech companies is no other provider can match what Huawei has to offer in terms of technology and costs.
Furthermore, industry sources commented that the 32-year-old tech company is one year ahead of its rivals. In the area of technological expertise, it is believed to be more advanced despite its cheaper offers.
The Philippines' Globe Telecom is a solid Huawei partner since 2011. In a statement, Globe Chief Technology and Information Officer Gil Genio said of its cooperation with the Chinese brand, "5G is an important building block for the Philippine economy's competitiveness. This is the reason we are accelerating our efforts to deploy 5G, so we can provide as many Filipinos as possible an access to the technology."
Globe is looking to provide its customers with 5G connections in the Manila area later this year. The Filipino telecom operator will use Huawei equipment to provide users with fast connections in areas where Internet is not yet available.
Meanwhile, South China Morning Post long-time columnist, Peter Kammerer stressed in his Tuesday opinion entry that U.S. President Donald Trump may be hampering scientific cooperation between Huawei and other companies.
Kammerer pointed out that other brands with advanced technological features, including those in the U.S., actually carry security risks. He explained that aside from Huawei, Google, Facebook, Samsung, Alexa, Siri, and Apple share the same processing characteristics. These companies collect and store data. At some point, the data collected are shared whenever these applications are activated.
