Japan snubs US call to bar China from telecoms networks

Japan has refused to join the US campaign to exclude Chinese firms from telecommunications networks, saying Tokyo will adopt its own measures to respond in case it finds concerns over security issues, a Japanese daily reported.

Citing several sources, Japan’s Yomiuri daily further stated on Friday that Tokyo has informed Washington that it cannot join a framework that excludes a specific nation though it will reconsider its decision if the current US plan against China is revised, noting that Japan will continue cooperating with the United States, a close ally.

The development came after the US State Department published an update of a plan called the “Clean Network” in August demanding that Chinese telecom companies, cloud service providers, and mobile apps be kept out of the United States.

According to the daily, hawkish US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo raised the “Clean Network” plan when he met Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi in Tokyo earlier this month as the Trump administration is pushing its allies to bar Chinese firm Huawei from next generation 5G mobile phone networks on alleged security grounds.

This is while Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary and top government spokesperson Katsunobu Kato reacted to the Yomiuri report on Friday by asserting that he understood there was no specific exchange of views on the “Clean Network” plan during the meeting between Pompeo and Motegi, and that the American side merely explained its overall cybersecurity efforts.

“Our nation wants to continue to strengthen cooperation in the area of cybersecurity with the US,” Kato said during a press briefing on Friday.

He further underlined that Tokyo will also take measures to ensure cybersecurity by taking steps to reduce supply chain risks when procuring information and communication equipment.

The report came just days after China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on Asian nations to remain “vigilant” in the face of Washington’s strategy of fueling geopolitical tensions in the South China Sea and other parts of the region.

MG