Counter China’s 5G U.S. Leads Five Eyes Alliance with Japan

The U.S. government will set up a multi-national fund for the development of 5G technology, with the participation of the Five Eyes Alliance, which shares intelligence with the U.S., Britain and Australia, and Japan, with the aim of preventing the popularization of Chinese equipment.

The Central News Agency quoted Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun as reporting that in order to stop the popularization of Chinese-made 5G devices, the U.S. will form a “coalition against China” with closely related countries, including Canada, Britain, Australia and New Zealand, allies of the “Five Eyes Alliance” that share intelligence, plus Japan, to take the lead in 5G development.

The U.S. government will establish a “Transnational Communications Security Fund” for the development of 5G technology and the strengthening of equipment supply networks. The U.S. National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, passed in early January, already states that this fund will be established.

According to the relevant provisions, it is necessary to conduct secure and trustworthy technology development, strengthen the equipment supply network, and cooperate with trusted vendors. The total amount of this fund is still under consideration, but the U.S. Congress has suggested that the size of the fund is about $500 million and the utilization period is 10 years.

The idea of this fund is led by U.S. Senator Mark Warner, a Democrat. He said in an interview with the Yomiuri Shimbun that it is necessary for the United States to work closely with allies and other countries in many areas of technology, including 5G. Japan is a leader in wireless communication technology and is one of the most important partners in the creation of the fund.

The report said that the U.S. needs the cooperation of Japan, which has strong technology, in order to build a 5G communication network with security against the Chinese Communist Party. The United States and the United Kingdom are strengthening the exclusion of Chinese telecom giant huawei and other Chinese manufacturers because 5G will be needed in various fields such as automobiles, medical care and electricity, but it may be used by spies and cyber terrorism to form a security risk. Countries to replace the power of Chinese manufacturers, has begun to work to develop a supply network.

When the U.S. and Japanese governments meet at the director level in the fall of 2020, both sides agreed to develop a supply chain for 5G equipment.

In addition, the British government announced last November that it would start the construction of a 5G communication network in cooperation with Japan’s NEC Corporation.

Information from Omdia, a British economic forecasting and business consulting firm, shows that the global market share of communication base stations including 5G is topped by Huawei’s 33% and Japan’s NEC or Fujitsu’s less than 1%.