SITARA was the first Indian Do/Think Tank to underline the importance of breaking free from Chinese 5G control

SITARA’s efforts to persuade the Government to launch indigenous 5G networks, for which awarding of at least a few tenders to Indian companies TODAY is critical so they can build up their resources after decades of discrimination in their own country through a flawed procurement system, were prescient.

They are confirmed by the excellent China as a “Cyber Great Power”: Beijing’s Two Voices in Telecommunications by the brilliant team of Rush Doshi, Emily De La Bruyère, Nathan Picarsic, and John Ferguson. In particular, they echo our warning that:

“•Commercial and academic Chinese sources suggest that the international community’s security concerns over Chinese telecommunications might not be misplaced, and that Beijing might see telecommunications and other commercial networks as means to project offensive power globally.“

While promoting the idea of free markets abroad, China’s internal messaging is all about self-reliance, and rightly so, and also as a means of controlling global 5G development. Reproduced are parts of the Executive Summary:

The (external voice) “stresses free markets, openness, collaboration, and interdependence, themes that suggest Huawei and other Chinese companies ought to be treated like other global private sector actors and welcomed into foreign networks“.

Domestically, China “emphasizes the limits of free markets, the dangers of reliance on foreign technologies… the need for industrial policy and government control to protect technologies, companies, and networks. Domestic Chinese discourse also indicates that commercial communication networks, including telecommunications systems, might be used to project power and influence offensively; that international technical standards offer a means with which to cement such power and influence…”.

Please read our + TEMA’s letter to DOT and the Report itself.

Picture credit Pixabay.

About The Author