TEHRAN, September 28 - The United States is working on a counter-offer to stop Chinese telecom giant Huawei Technologies Co Ltd [HWT.UL] from building internet infrastructure in Papua New Guinea (PNG), its top diplomat to Australia said on Friday.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - The bid comes two years after Huawei first agreed to build a network there, and as the United States and its allies mount a vigorous campaign to check China's rising influence in the region by deepening their own diplomatic ties and boosting aid.
It also follows Australia shutting Huawei out of contracts to build a national mobile network on security grounds, and blocking it from laying a subsea communications cable from Sydney to PNG and the Solomon Islands.
"We are working on a counter-offer," U.S. Charge d'Affaires James Caruso said on Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio, when asked about reports that Australia, Japan and the United States were looking to trump Huawei's PNG project.
"The whole idea is to give alternatives. This is not to say: 'Don't do business with China.' China's offers are out on the table; it's up to us to be competitive," he said, without elaborating on the offer's details.
Representatives of Australia, Japan and Papua New Guinea had no immediate response when contacted by Reuters. Huawei, which denies its equipment is a security threat, had no immediate comment.
Speaking in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said he did not have an understanding of the situation, but added China set great store on its ties with Papua New Guinea and has provided aid to the country for a long time without any political pre-conditions.
This has benefited the country's economic development and was warmly welcomed in Papua New Guinea, he told a daily news briefing.
The United States has not had an ambassador in Australia since 2016, with Caruso filling in as top diplomat.
Source: Reuters