India's IB, defence ministry against awarding telecom contracts to Chinese cos
Friday, 15 May 2009
India's intelligence bureau (IB) and defence ministry has said that state-owned BSNL should not award telecom equipment contracts to Chinese equipment majors Huawei and ZTE in the interest of national security.
According to a news published on Thursday's The Economic Times, both IB and the defence ministry's reactions are in the wake of BSNL's move to shortlist Huawei, along with Swedish equipment major Ericsson, for its mega 93-million-line GSM expansion project worth around Rs 300 billion.
Ericsson was short-listed as the lowest bidder for north and east zones while Huawei was selected for west, east and south zones.
The views of IB and the defence ministry were conveyed to BSNL at a meeting on April 9. During the meet, both BSNL and the Department of Telecom (DoT) suggested that Huawei could be awarded the contract in south India since the region did not share sensitive borders with Pakistan, China and Bangladesh. Besides, the Department of Telecom argued that Huawei was already working with BSNL in south India.
Shooting down the request, IB director said: "Considering the present security scenario in the country, even the southern region with its coastline can be considered sensitive," while adding that "with the reference to the sensitive communication sector, distinction in terms of zones was relevant." As per the minutes of this meeting, a copy of which is available with ET, IB added that 'BSNL should not award contracts to Chinese companies, as these companies are known to have links with the Chinese state and security apparatus and, therefore, their presence in this critical sector has national security implications in a variety of ways'.
Defence ministry representatives, who attended the meeting, were of the view that Huawei has been set up with the assistance of the Chinese army and has a tainted past in addition to being black-listed in US,' according to minutes of the meeting. "Similarly, the other Chinese company ZTE also does not have a good track record and, in case, these two companies should not be allowed to come in any part of the country," the defence ministry representatives added.
The government has also set up a committee to examine the issue of participation of foreign companies, particularly with regard to security related sensitivities in BSNL tenders. According to sources, the committee members include IB coordinator & joint director R N Behura, Mr P K Mittal from the Department of Telecom, Major General P K Das and Cdr S K Gupta from the Ministry of Defence.
Additionally, it will also have Research and Analysis Wing's (RAW) cabinet secretariat joint secretary S K Gupta and a representative from the National Technical Research Organisation. The committee is expected to submit its report within the next couple of days.
According to a news published on Thursday's The Economic Times, both IB and the defence ministry's reactions are in the wake of BSNL's move to shortlist Huawei, along with Swedish equipment major Ericsson, for its mega 93-million-line GSM expansion project worth around Rs 300 billion.
Ericsson was short-listed as the lowest bidder for north and east zones while Huawei was selected for west, east and south zones.
The views of IB and the defence ministry were conveyed to BSNL at a meeting on April 9. During the meet, both BSNL and the Department of Telecom (DoT) suggested that Huawei could be awarded the contract in south India since the region did not share sensitive borders with Pakistan, China and Bangladesh. Besides, the Department of Telecom argued that Huawei was already working with BSNL in south India.
Shooting down the request, IB director said: "Considering the present security scenario in the country, even the southern region with its coastline can be considered sensitive," while adding that "with the reference to the sensitive communication sector, distinction in terms of zones was relevant." As per the minutes of this meeting, a copy of which is available with ET, IB added that 'BSNL should not award contracts to Chinese companies, as these companies are known to have links with the Chinese state and security apparatus and, therefore, their presence in this critical sector has national security implications in a variety of ways'.
Defence ministry representatives, who attended the meeting, were of the view that Huawei has been set up with the assistance of the Chinese army and has a tainted past in addition to being black-listed in US,' according to minutes of the meeting. "Similarly, the other Chinese company ZTE also does not have a good track record and, in case, these two companies should not be allowed to come in any part of the country," the defence ministry representatives added.
The government has also set up a committee to examine the issue of participation of foreign companies, particularly with regard to security related sensitivities in BSNL tenders. According to sources, the committee members include IB coordinator & joint director R N Behura, Mr P K Mittal from the Department of Telecom, Major General P K Das and Cdr S K Gupta from the Ministry of Defence.
Additionally, it will also have Research and Analysis Wing's (RAW) cabinet secretariat joint secretary S K Gupta and a representative from the National Technical Research Organisation. The committee is expected to submit its report within the next couple of days.