India and the United Kingdom will work together in the fields of telecommunications, specifically 5G. The Union Cabinet on Wednesday gave its approval for signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Communications and UK's Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS). The UK is the latest country to join hands with India as part of a global "anti-China" alliance of sorts to check the expansion of Chinese telecom companies such as Huawei and ZTE in the global 5G space. Around a month ago, India announced cooperation with Japan on 5G and 5G Plus technologies, with support from the United States and Australia. The MoU between India and UK will contribute to strengthening bilateral cooperation in the field of telecommunications, ICT (information and communications technology), noted a government statement. The two countries will work on development of technologies such as 5G, Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing and Big Data. Importantly, they will also work on the "security of telecommunication infrastructure". What this could mean A large number of countries have been closing ranks against Chinese tech companies such as Huawei and ZTE, preventing them from building 5G infrastructure in their respective jurisdiction. This is primarily because of the fear that these companies work with the Chinese intelligence and military, and hence pose national security risks to other countries. The US is currently rallying countries to join its boycott, which has been in place since mid-2019. Other countries have also taken similar decisions in the recent past.…
