Agence France-Presse reported that China’s telecom giant Huawei is ready to launch 5G infrastructure across Southeast Asia. Zhou Mingcheng, Huawei’s VP for global public affairs, said at the ASEAN meeting in Bangkok on Sunday that China and the United States are engaged in a trade war, as well as a technological war. Zhou said, “We are here to support the 5G development in ASEAN countries.” The 10-members of ASEAN have a total population of more than 600 million. ASEAN countries hope to embark on the latest technology so as to become globally competitive in business, infrastructure, and transportation.
After Huawei set up a regional headquarters in Thailand in 2015, for three years in a row, Thailand has been the company’s largest destination for investments in Southeast Asia. From 2016 to 2018, Huawei won a total purchase order of US$2.09 billion in Southeast Asia. Although the United States has repeatedly issued security warnings against Huawei’s 5G network, traditional American allies Thailand and the Philippines, instead of paying heed, have been anxious to explore the superfast 5G network that Huawei has promised. In early February of this year, Thailand launched Huawei’s 5G test platform, Huawei’s first test platform in a Southeast Asian country. Global Telecom, the Philippines’ largest mobile telecommunications operator, already started to use Huawei technology this summer, launching the first 5G broadband service in Southeast Asia.
However, not all ASEAN countries like Huawei. Vietnam has chosen to side with the United States and has partnered with other companies, including Ericsson and Nokia.
Source: Voice of America, November 3, 2019
https://www.voachinese.com/a/5150592.html