US Acting Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan claimed during his speech in Singapore on 1 June that Huawei is "too close" to the Chinese government for it to be entrusted with building communications networks, fearing they could be tapped by Beijing.
"The integration of civilian businesses with the military is too close. China has national policies and laws where data is required to be shared", he said.
Shanahan further added that in the light of this situation, he "can’t trust" networks built using Huawei's equipment, to be fully protected against espionage.
His words come amid an ongoing US pressure campaign against the Chinese tech giant. Washington claims the company cooperates with the government and installs backdoors in its equipment for Beijing's espionage and cyberattacks. Both the Chinese government and the firm have denied the US allegations.
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Nevertheless, the US barred Huawei's equipment from the country and banned the transfer of technologies and software to it by US companies. This resulted in Google cutting Android support for future Huawei devices and caused chipmakers to stop selling their production to the tech giant.
Some foreign firms have also cut ties with Huawei, fearing sanctions from the US for selling equipment which partially contains US-made technologies. In the light of the White House's move, the Chinese company filed a suit against the American government.
Washington also pressured its European allies to deny the Chinese tech giant access to the construction of 5G networks, threatening to limit intelligence sharing efforts otherwise. So far the US' efforts have proved to be fruitless.
