India set to block Chinese vendors from state networks

The Indian government is reportedly going to block Huawei and ZTE from involvement with BSNL and MTNL, in the latest escalation of bad blood between the two countries.

Indian newspaper The Economic Times seems to have broken the news, having chatted to an anonymous source within the department of telecoms. BSNL and MTNL are state run telcos that still account for a decent chunk of the market. It seems to have been decided that any future kit procured by the two shouldn’t be from Huawei or ZTE and some existing deals may even be cancelled. There is no mention of ripping and replacing Chinese kit already in the networks.

This seems to be less about security, which is how the US frames its ban on Chinese stuff, than it is about direct punishment of China for its continuing belligerence over a bit of its border with India. Both countries have been amassing troops at the Galwan Valley border and recently had a massive scrap with improvised melee weapons, like something out of The Walking Dead, which resulted in 20 Indian deaths. China has kept quiet about its own losses, implying they were considerable.

Border aggro seems to translate immediately to nationwide antipathy in India these days, with an app designed to remove Chinese apps from Indian phones recently doing brisk business before it was removed by Google. The report indicates this is a tit-for-tat move in response to Indian companies being restricted in China, but it’s hard to believe the border tension didn’t play a part too. As another country becomes closed to them, Huawei and ZTE must be wishing their government would wind its neck in a bit.