Australian telecommunications carriers and IT suppliers may have spent the past 40 years groaning that doing business in the Asia Pacific region is high on resourcing while low on return, but a key strategic policy thinktank is warning the nation’s tech providers need to double down and fast hone their diplomatic skills.
In the latest addition to the lexicography of modern militarist verbiage (think ‘cognitive warfare’) the Australian Strategic Policy Institute has transmitted its desire for the concept of “tech diplomacy” to be added to the regional strategic playbook, to encourage industry to do its bit in our backyard.
“We need to get used to a new concept in international security: tech diplomacy. It means technological collaboration across sectors and between countries, but the simplicity of the idea shouldn’t disguise its importance,” the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s Washington analyst Bronte Munro posited in the latest issue of the in-house tome The Strategist.
“Technology lies at the heart of geostrategic competition between China and the US. The US and its allies need to secure advantages in emerging technologies to meet ongoing and rapidly evolving national security imperatives.”
At the telecommunications COMINT and SIGINT levels, it’s been that way for around 20 years, essentially since major US networking manufacturers like Nortel sold out to overseas interests like Nokia, Ericsson and Alcatel resulting in the US essentially vacating the carrier-grade equipment field.
Similarly, a huge amount of processor manufacturing went to Asia, namely Taiwan, Korea and China, which all successively undercut each other on price until security agencies got the wobbles when state-backed Chinese firms like Huawei started pushing for access to network contracts like 5G and the National Broadband Network triggering a serious regional spat.
Munro points out that Australia has actually been doing tech diplomacy for years, it’s more about how we label things now versus what we said then.
“Successful tech diplomacy efforts have already taken place, notably with the deployment of 5G networks. 5G technology built the infrastructure that would underpin the future of connective technology, which could significantly affect national security, rights, privacy and economics. Australia was the first mover in banning Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei from building the nation’s 5G networks,” Munro says.
“One consideration was the potential for China to abuse the network for surveillance; another was how Huawei was changing market dynamics by offering free infrastructure and locking in countries through dependency.
That also implicitly means that if China can give away kits to our strategic neighbours, well, it might help if we had something to offer too.
“Tech diplomacy occurred when efforts led by Australia and allies recognised the shared importance to their national interests of having competitive alternatives to Huawei 5G networks and collaborated, including with industry, to secure them,” Munro said.
“Notably, efforts by the US, such as the Clean Network implemented by the US State Department, led to the collaboration of public-sector and private-sector leaders in 60 counties and 200 telecommunication companies to pursue 5G providers and alternatives to Huawei.”
It was the night before Budget and all through the haus…
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