Is Huawei a Security Threat? Vietnam Isn’t Taking Any Chances

The battle for technological dominance between the United States and China is splitting the world in two, though not always along the lines you might expect.
American allies such as Britain and Germany have signaled that they are unlikely to back Washington’s effort to stop countries from working with the Chinese technology giant Huawei, which American officials call a Trojan Horse for Beijing’s cyberspies. Australia has barred the firm from building its next-generation 5G cellphone networks, even though its economy depends on China’s appetite for natural resources. South Korea and the Philippines have not, despite past frictions with China.
And then there is Vietnam. At first glance, this fast-developing nation might seem to be a natural customer for Huawei. Its economy is entwined with China’s, and Beijing has embraced the country’s Communist Party leaders in Hanoi as ideological brethren.
Yet Vietnam’s leading mobile carriers appear to be keeping Huawei out of their 5G plans, even if the government’s fear of incensing Beijing most likely prevents them from saying so.