WA will reportedly review a $136 million rail communications deal awarded to a Huawei joint venture in 2018, after the United States accused Huawei of stealing American technology in charges levelled this week.
According to a report from The West Australian on Wednesday, state transport minister Rita Saffioti told the paper a review was needed to ensure Huawei is capable of delivering its end of the contract. “The Public Transport Authority is currently seeking advice from the contractor regarding any potential impacts of these risks on the delivery of the project,” Saffioti was quoted.
A joint venture of Huawei and UGL was awarded the $136 million contract to build and maintain digital radio systems for voice and data across Perth’s rail network in July 2018. The project is due for completion in 2021.
On Monday the US Department of Justice unsealed a 13-count indictment alleging a pair of Huawei entities stole American technology, engaged in wire fraud and obstructed justice. The indictment followed the arrest of Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou in Canada, at the request of the United States, on December 1, 2018.
“The charges unsealed today clearly allege that Huawei intentionally conspired to steal the intellectual property of an American company in an attempt to undermine the free and fair global marketplace,” FBI director Christopher Wray said. “This indictment shines a bright light on Huawei’s flagrant abuse of the law – especially its efforts to steal valuable intellectual property from T-Mobile to gain unfair advantage in the global marketplace.”
The charges allege Huawei of stealing a phone-testing robot known as ‘Tappy’ from US telecommunications giant T-Mobile. The indictment alleges Huawei engineers violated confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements by taking photos and measurements of ‘Tappy’ and, in one alleged instance, stealing a piece of the robot so it could be replicated.
In an official statement, Huawei Australia said it was disappointed to learn of the charges. “The Company denies that it or its subsidiary or affiliate have committed any of the asserted violations of US law set forth in each of the indictments, is not aware of any wrongdoing by Ms. Meng, and believes the US courts will ultimately reach the same conclusion.”
Huawei’s local chairman John Lord also expressed disappointment and “frustration” to the Australian Financial Review this week, saying Huawei had been swept up in anti-China sentiment in the US.
When Huawei won the Perth rail communications deal in July last year, Lord said it reinforced the company’s long-term investment focus in the Australian market. “We thank the PTA for the trust they have placed in Huawei,” Lord said in July 2018. “We are modernising the Australian transportation sector through digital technologies developed for the global market.”