The United States has cautioned countries against choosing suppliers of 5G networking equipment merely on the basis of price and speed asserting that their decision will have a long-lasting and deep impact on strategic and commercial relationships.

“It’s very important that leaders around the world understand that they are about to make a momentous decision on the future of how their countries communicate,” a senior administration official told a group of foreign correspondents.

“In many cases these decisions seem very simple: is it cheap and is it fast? But leaders must understand that these decisions are going to be long-lasting and have deep implications for strategic and commercial relationships and thus cannot simply be based on such factors,” said the senior administration official, who requested anonymity.

In some cases, the US has unsuccessfully been arguing that such a move would make them and their citizens vulnerable, impact their privacy and also have a long term impact on their sovereignty.

“5G and the rollout of Huawei equipment is part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative; it’s the digital version of that plan. And what do we see already with that Belt and Road Initiative? Debt-laden investments in ports, in railroads, in physical infrastructure. And we’re seeing the same thing happen with Huawei and other gear,” he said.

More recently, in May, the Czech Republic hosted representatives from more than 30 countries to build a common approach to 5G security, and that effort produced the Prague Principles which are a set of recommendations on how to build a secure and trustworthy 5G network, which, again, recognizes the risks of a third country wielding influence over an equipment supplier, Carr said.

Australia issued 5G security guidance to protect their networks, including from vendors who are likely to be subject to extrajudicial direction from a foreign government, Carr said.

Japan has imposed requirements to take cybersecurity measures, including ones to respond to supply chain threats. Taiwan has extended its existing measures regarding trusted equipment vendors to cover all 5G government networks and critical infrastructure, Carr said.