Huawei will cooperate with Ireland over security concerns

Huawei is willing to cooperate fully with the government and security services of the Republic of Ireland, the Chinese telecommunications company has confirmed, following reports that a probe will assess risks linked to Huawei's involvement in Irish mobile networks.

This week, British newspaper The Times reported that the Irish government had asked its intelligence agency to gauge whether Huawei's participation in the installation of 5G networks could pose a threat to national security.

"Huawei will remain fully transparent and cooperative if requested by the Irish government or the Commission for Communications Regulation," a Huawei spokesperson told China Daily. "

Huawei is a long-term investor in Ireland and we are proud to be supporting the roll-out of mobile and broadband networks for the benefit of the public, the business community, and the economy as a whole."

Huawei has had offices in Ireland since 2004 and has established research and development centers in Athlone, Cork, and Dublin. The company has also partnered in Ireland with network providers O2, BT, Eircom, and Vodafone.

James Lawless, the Irish government's spokesman on technology, said some members of the country's business community have expressed concern about the risk of intellectual property violations arising from the use of Huawei equipment.

"I've been contacted by industry leaders who are deeply concerned about this issue and what is being done about it," Lawless told The Times. "The government may not view this issue as a headache but secure communications and the theft of intellectual property is a major issue for big information technology companies based here."

Huawei has repeatedly denied claims that it installs spyware or acts on behalf of any foreign power.

"Huawei is wholly owned by its employees and is independent from the government of China," the spokesperson said.

In February, Huawei Chairman Guo Ping denied allegations made by the United States that the company had assisted the Chinese government in espionage.

"Huawei has not and will never plant backdoors," Guo said. "And we will never allow anyone else to do so in our equipment."

Both Australia and New Zealand have followed the US in effectively barring Huawei from participating in the development of 5G networks.

A security review published last week also cast doubt over Huawei's involvement in setting up 5G networks in the United Kingdom.

An oversight board that monitors Huawei's activity in Britain said it can only provide "limited assurance" that all national security risks stemming from Huawei's involvement in the UK's critical networks can be "sufficiently mitigated long-term".

Responding to the report, a Huawei spokesperson told China Daily the company "understands the oversight board's concerns" and "takes them very seriously". The company said it is moving forward with a program in the UK to address security concerns.

"In November last year, Huawei's board of directors issued a resolution to carry out a company-wide transformation program aimed at enhancing our software engineering capabilities, with an initial budget of $2 billion," the spokesperson said.

Last week, the European Commission called on all European Union member states to share data and address security risks linked to 5G technology, but ignored calls from the US to ban Huawei equipment.

"5G technology will transform our economy and society and open massive opportunities for people and businesses," said Andrus Ansip, European commissioner for the digital single market.

"But we cannot accept this happening without full security built-in. It is therefore essential that 5G infrastructures in the EU are resilient and fully secure from technical or legal backdoors."