US Asks UAE To Remove Huawei From Telecommunication Networks: Bloomberg Reports

The Report says that the US’s dmenad has put at risk the UAE’s purchase of some $23 billion in F-35 jets and drones might be at stake.

WASHINGTON: (UrduPoint/UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News-June 12^th, 2021) US President Joe Biden has asked United Arab Emirates to remove Huawei Technologies Co from its telecommunications network and take some steps to distance itself from China, Bloomberg reported on Saturday.

Bloomberg said that the US’s demand has put at riks the UAE’s purchase of some $23 billion in F-35 jets and drones might be at stake.

“The U.S. is asking the UAE to remove Huawei equipment from its networks within the next four years -- before it’s scheduled to get the F-35 in 2026 or 2027 -- but Emirati officials have countered that they’d need longer plus an alternative that’s as affordable, according to three of the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private negotiations. The conversations have turned in part on the feasibility of obtaining alternative equipment from samsung Electronics Co., Ericsson AB or Nokia Oyj,” it reported.

The dispute over the use of Chinese Huawei in UAE has intensified since the Trump administration as the US officials made several attempts to persuade the Emirates to take steps to distancce itself from China.

Bloomberg also reported that many people who were well aware of the situation said that Trump administration officials had initially persuaded Emirati officials to replace Huawei and preempt any Chinese plans for bases in the region.

But the Emiratis insisted on more ambiguous language in a deal that was concluded in the waning hours of Donald Trump’s presidency.

President Joe Biden announced a review of the F-35 sale when he came into office. Accoridng to the reports, Biden administration would follow the Trump team’s effort to press allies to ban Huawei, China’s biggest tech firm, from new 5G systems on the contention that these Chinese equipment could be used for spying for China. But the China has denied it.

Bloomberg said that that Biden-Harris administration had viewed 5G security as a high priority while Stephen Anderson, acting deputy assistant secretary of state for international communications and information policy had confirmed it in a statement.

“The United States is working with allies and partners to support a diverse supply chain of trustworthy telecommunications equipment and services,” a release was qouted as saying.

On other hand, China’s Foreign Ministry had said that “we share the view that China-UAE cooperation serves the common interests of both sides and benefits the two peoples” and that “it has nothing to do with and does not tolerate interference by third parties,”.