Philippine military boss says China telecoms spy risk 'very low'

By Karen Lema
MANILA, Oct 13 (Reuters) - The Philippines' armed forces
chief gave his assurance on Tuesday that a telecom firm
part-owned by a Chinese state company posed no national security
threat, and said equipment it will install in army camps will be
tightly scrutinised.
General Gilbert Gapay said that having the communications
kit on bases would allow the military to access it easily and
inspect it to ensure it was compliant.
"We don't see any security risk, it is very low," Gapay told
foreign correspondents in an online forum.
Some lawmakers have warned the equipment could be used to
spy on a military closely allied with the United States.
The Philippine government last month allowed DITO
Telecommunity Corp, a joint venture between state-run China
Telecom 0728.HK and a tycoon close to President Rodrigo
Duterte, to erect towers on military land for its $5.15 billion
entry into the market, which includes 5G technology.
"One advantage of having this facility by DITO inside camps
is we could monitor them closely," Gapay said. "We could inspect
them anytime".
He said the Philippines' two largest telecoms companies,
Globe GLO.PS and PLDT TEL.PS also have communication kit in
military camps that also use Chinese technology.
DITO wants to use 22 military sites, but Gapay said those
were still under negotiation and would be evaluated "one by
one".
"We assure the armed forces and our people that our
communication system will be secured," said Gapay.
China Telecom 's venture in the Philippines follows repeated
promises by Duterte to offer China a place in the local market
to boost service quality. Uy's firm says it won a license fairly
in open tender.
Former Supreme Court judge Antonio Carpio, a staunch critic
of Duterte's pro-China stance, has warned that China "will
surely want to eavesdrop" on military communications.
DITO executives last month described spying concerns as
"truly misplaced".