‘A clear-eyed approach’: Scott Morrison did the right thing to ban Huawei to stop Chinese company ‘infiltrating’ telecommunications, former White House advisor John Bolton claims
- Former US national security advisor John Bolton praised Scott Morrison
- He said the Australian prime minister took correct stance on Huawei ban
- Huawei was stopped from installing 5G mobile in Australia in August 2018
- Mr Bolton said America had erred and been slower to stop Huawei’s presence
Former national security advisor to the White House John Bolton has praised prime minister Scott Morrison for banning Huawei in Australia over security concerns, and said America could have followed suit much sooner.
Mr Morrison announced the Chinese telco giant would not be allowed to install 5G mobile in Australia in August 2018 – another setback for Huawei after it was barred from installing the National Broadband Network in 2012.
All US companies have only prohibited from collaborating with Huawei since May 16, 2019 – despite overwhelming concerns from experts worldwide that the telco giant could have posed a national security risk.
Mr Bolton, who left the White House in September, is set to release his explosive memoir ‘The Room Where It Happened’ where he shares the same sentiment, Australian Financial Review reported.
He labelled Mr Morrison’s stance on the matter a ‘clear-eyed approach’ and added the pair viewed the company in ‘pretty much the way I did.’
Former national security advisor to the White House John Bolton has praised prime minister Scott Morrison for banning Huawei in Australia over security concerns, and said America could have followed suit much sooner
Mr Morrison announced the Chinese telco giant would not be allowed to install 5G mobile in Australia in August 2018 – another setback for Huawei after it was barred from installing the National Broadband Network in 2012
‘The most important goal for Chinese ‘companies’ like Huawei and ZTE is to infiltrate telecommunications and information-technology systems, notably 5G, and subject them to Chinese control (though both companies, of course, dispute the US characterisation of their activities).’
Experts have previously expressed mistrust towards Huawei over fears the Chinese Communist Party could use the telco giant for espionage.
‘There’s risk of Huawei being used to enable either espionage or sabotage,’ Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s senior analyst on international cyber policy Tom Uren told Daily Mail Australia in the past.
Huawei’s founder Ren Zhengfei was a member of the People’s Liberation Army before founding his technology company in 1987.
His ties to the Chinese Communist Party have made foreign governments nervous.
‘The Chinese Communist Party has great control over enterprises,’ Mr Uren said.
‘They prioritise their own security over anything else.
‘Mostly it’s the way China operates writ large.’
Experts have previously expressed mistrust towards Huawei over fears the Chinese Communist Party could use the telco giant for espionage
He said Huawei, if allowed to install the 5G network, could have been directed by the Chinese government to spy on Australian government agencies and cabinet ministers.
‘They have basically a great ability to reach into that network and do stuff,’ he said.
Only on Friday, Mr Morrison announced Australia was under cyber attack from a malicious ‘state-actor’ with banks, transport networks, electricity grids and the military all under threat.
Although the perpetrator of the cyber invasion has not been named, Mr Morrison said a ‘sophisticated state-based actor’ was behind ongoing attacks which have hit Australian universities, hospitals, industry and governments.