Pompeo on visit warns about China
Slovenia backing U.S. on 5G wireless security
BLED, Slovenia — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Slovenia on Thursday to make the case for high-speed wireless networks that bar Chinese companies such as Huawei.
On the second leg of a four-nation tour of central and Eastern Europe, Pompeo met with Slovenian officials in the mountain lake town of Bled and signed a joint declaration on 5G Clean Network Security, which aims to keep untrusted telecommunications vendors out of Slovenia.
“Free nations must work together to confront authoritarian threats,” he said. “It is absolutely critical that every nation makes a good sovereign decision about how the private information of its citizens is going to be handled.”
Pompeo has led a U.S. campaign across Europe and elsewhere against Huawei and other Chinese companies that the Trump administration accuses of sharing sensitive data and personal information with China’s security apparatus. The campaign has had mixed results, but NATO ally Slovenia is on board.
“Protecting communications networks from disruption or manipulation and ensuring the privacy and individual liberties of the citizens of the United States and Slovenia are vital to ensuring that our people are able to take advantage of the tremendous economic opportunities 5G will enable,” the declaration said.
Slovenia last month rolled out a nationwide commercial 5G network with the Swedish telecoms giant Ericsson, which Pompeo and other U.S. officials frequently mention as a “trusted” alternative to Huawei.
“The tide is turning against the Chinese Communist Party and its efforts to control information,” Pompeo said.
Besides the 5G declaration, Pompeo discussed energy security with Slovenia’s president and prime minister. The United States is keen to wean Europe from its dependence on Russian oil and gas and has launched initiatives throughout the continent to diversify European energy sources.