The digital cold war has moved to Central America. Beijing has made economic threats as China and Costa Rica trade barbs over Huawei’s exclusion as a 5G vendor, according to Reuters.
It all began in October when a Costa Rican minister claimed that the Chinese government is totalitarian and a security threat, signing a decree banning 5G firms that have not signed on to an international cybercrime convention. Beijing immediately denied Costa Rica’s cyber-security and spying accusations.
Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves noted that the Chinese government requires all domestic companies to fulfill its information requests and it has not agreed to an international cybercrime convention. “The country where Huawei is based doesn’t have a solid judicial framework that prevents spying,” Chaves said.
Last week, Beijing increased the level of the rhetoric, saying Costa Rica’s Huawei ban would damage economic ties between the countries, Reuters reported.
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