In what comes as yet another headline bound to make Huawei executives and their CCP paymasters jittery, India and Japan will now be partnering for the development of 5G and 5G Plus technologies, even as the other two QUAD members – U.S and Australia are all set to pitch in with their own contributions towards the effort. According to a report in the Hindustan Times, Foreign Ministers of QUAD countries will be discussing the development of 5G technologies next month, in a first of its kind high-level meeting.
In the development of 5G technologies, if the partnership emerging between QUAD members wasn’t already heart-breaking enough for Huawei and the CCP, Israel too will be participating in the endeavour, in what emerges as possible signs of the QUAD being opened up for the Jewish state as well.
The Hindustan Times report quoted ‘authoritative government sources’ as saying that while India and Japan have decided to pitch in for 5G and plus technologies, India is also eyeing the 3GPP – an umbrella mobile telecommunications standard organization, and has been successful in the global standards consortium to accept the first Indian rural standard for telecommunication.
India along with its partners, which include the US, Japan, Australia and Israel will now be setting more technological global standards. So far, in what serves as a testimony to the erstwhile hegemony of Chinese telecommunication majors, the majority of 3GPP standards were set by the Chinese telecom development companies. The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is an umbrella term for a number of standards organizations that develop protocols for mobile telecommunications.
The news came after Prime Minister Modi spoke to his newly appointed Japanese counterpart – Yoshihide Suga. Prime Minister Suga is said to have pushed PM Modi for an expedited formalisation of the QUAD strategic alliance, in order to contribute to multilateral efforts for a “free and open Indo-Pacific.” “India and Japan have agreed to closely cooperate and develop the 5G and advanced technologies with US and Australia ramping up technological support. We are also taking help from Israel. There are discussions on within the government and our 5G policy will take a final shape in the coming days. But Japan will be a close partner nevertheless,” said an official involved in the exercise.
It is understood that the Indian telecom providers have been told to not engage in business with Huawei henceforth, following China’s increasingly aggressive behaviour along the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh. The telecommunication majors have also allegedly been nudged to work towards phasing out existing Huawei infrastructure from the Indian market. This comes as a part of the Indian government’s economic offensive against China following the violent June 15 clashes between the Indian Army and CCP-militia, also known as the PLA.
India and Japan emerging as primary partners for the development of 5G technology, even as the U.S, Australia and Israel provide all the necessary technological support for the same is a signal to China, that all the countries that matter in the world are now ganging up against it in all spheres. Already, Huawei is faced with an unprecedented existential crisis, and is all set to withdraw itself from the global smartphone market, following a ban by the US on semiconductor technology for the Chinese tech major, virtually rendering it incapacitated to drive further its technological ambitions.
Rakuten, a Japanese e-commerce giant founded in 1997, is being seen as a viable alternative to the Chinese tech giant Huawei. As for India, Reliance Jio is being seen as a possible alternative for Huawei and is also emerging as the frontrunner in the country when it comes to 5G technologies. Huawei has lost many markets such as Singapore, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Its future also seems uncertain in Canada, Brazil, France and maybe even Germany. Around the world, companies like Nokia and Ericsson are already emerging victors as countries begin shutting their doors for Huawei, and as a consequence, for CCP espionage.
The partnership between QUAD members, including Israel, for the development and distribution of 5G technology, might prove to be the final nail in the coffin for Huawei. While looking at such a partnership from the prism of telecommunications alone will not do justice to its significance, for the time being, we’ll save the CCP of any more heartbreaks.