US steering Vietnam’s cables away from China

Washington considers HMN Tech an affiliate of Chinese tech giant Huawei and both are under US sanctions over concerns that they are a threat to national security – a charge that Huawei has denied. — Reuters

HANOI: The United States is urging Vietnam to avoid Chinese cable-laying firm HMN Technologies and other Chinese companies in its plans to build 10 new undersea cables by 2030, according to sources.

Vietnam’s five major ageing subsea connections that link it to the global Internet have suffered repeated failures, making new cables a top government priority.