Taiwan spooks warn governments off Huawei

The Taiwanese intelligence agency does not want government agencies to use Huawei products, and said the Chinese vendor should be banned from official bids for being a security risk.

According to Taipei Times, the director of the National Security Bureau Tsai Der-sheng issued the recommendation at a meeting of the parliamentary foreign affairs and national defence committee.

“This is our policy now. The NSB has banned using Huawei’s products and thinks other government bureaus should not use the company’s products," Tsai reportedly told the committee.

The committee is probing the use of Huawei products by Taiwanese government agencies which have bought mobile phones and network cards despite the NSB ban, and raised Huawei's links with the Chinese People's Liberation Army.

Mainland China and Taiwan were in a state of war with each other until 1979 and tensions between the two flare up regularly.

The British government meanwhile is ignoring warning from its intelligence agency MI5 on security concerns around Huawei, and is welcoming investment from the Chinese company.

Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne told British media during a visit to the telco vendor's Shenzhen plant that he was aware that there are countries which are a little bit nervous about Huawei. 

The United Kingdom wasn't in that camp, the Chancellor said.

Huawei is spending big on its British operations currently, with a $2b expansion underway as well as a $250 million security centre.

The former Australian Labor government banned Huawei from tendering for work on the national broadband network over security concerns. Current Attorney-General George Brandis told the AFR yesterday the ban would remain in place.