Japan is expected to participate in a U.S. multinational fund for the development of 5G telecommunications technology and strengthening of the supply network to prevent the spread of equipment made in China.
The United States aims to form the coalition against China also with fellow nations of the so-called Five Eyes -- the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand -- the group of English-speaking countries that share intelligence.
The Multilateral Telecommunications Security Fund was included in the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2021, from October 2020 through September 2021, which was enacted in early January.
The act states under the section on the fund, "In creating and sustaining a common funding mechanism, the Secretary of State should leverage United States funding in order to secure commitments and contributions from trusted foreign partners such as the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan."
It also proposes prioritizing these objectives: "(i) Advancing research and development of secure and trusted communications technologies. (ii) Strengthening supply chains. (iii) Promoting the use of trusted vendors."
The size of the fund will be determined in the future, but 500 million dollars available for 10 years was proposed in the U.S. Congress.
"Across a number of foundational technologies, including 5G, the U.S. needs to work closely with allies and like-minded trade partners," said Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat from Virgina who led the idea for the fund, in an interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun. "Japan is one of the foremost partners for these efforts, as a leader in wireless innovation and major contributor to digital infrastructure efforts across the Indo-Pacific."
The U.S. side seems to believe that Japan's cooperation is essential to build a secure 5G communications network, given its high technological capabilities. If the project using the fund goes ahead, it could lead to the spread of technologies and products from Japanese manufacturers.
The United States is likely to take advantage of its own strength in software development in the multilateral coalition, as it looks to keep partner nations in its camp to counter China, whose products main strength is in their affordability.
The features of 5G include communication speeds up to 100 times faster than the current mainstream 4G and the ability to connect many devices simultaneously. Applications for 5G include in automobiles, the medical field and energy generation.
There are growing security concerns, however, that 5G could be used for espionage and cyberterrorism. Hence, the United States and Britain are moving to eliminate from their 5G networks companies from China such as Huawei Technologies Co.
As each nation in Five Eyes begins to focus on looking for alternative suppliers to firms from China, relations with Japan are being strengthened, as Tokyo has close security ties with each and the country is home to manufacturers involved in telecommunications equipment such as NEC Corp. and Fujitsu Ltd.
Tokyo and Washington agreed to cooperate in diversifying the sources of their supplies for 5G equipment, with Japan-made products in mind, during a meeting of bureau chief-level government officials last fall.
In November, the British government announced that it would begin test runs for building a 5G communications network in cooperation with NEC.
Huawei Technologies is the global market leader related to communication base stations, including for 5G, with a 33% share, according to Omdia, a British research firm, while NEC and Fujitsu each have less than a 1% share.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
