New alliance against Huawei: 'Five eyes' with 'D-10' nations including India, South Korea & Japan

China has been supplying weapons to India’s neighbourhood but Huawei which is one of its most potent weapons to dominate the world is losing power with several leading countries banning the Chinese company.

As an angry China ventedits ire through cartoons published by the Chinese state broadcaster showing British Prime Minister Boris Johnson trying to tear down a Huawei tower - the picture might soon become a reality with Huawei under intense scrutiny in the UK.

Just last week, the company’s representatives were grilled by lawmakers in London.

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"The Chinese state has a history of stealing intellectual property, do you believe if we allow Huawei into 5G, that this country will be more vulnerable to a cyberattack?" Graham Stringer, Labour MP asked Huawei officials.

Wenbing Yao, the director of strategy and marketing at Huawei replied to the UK lawmaker, saying: "Obviously, there is no evidence to support the claim that if Huawei builtthe 5G network in the country and that, you know, it'll attract more cyber attacks."

"Would it not make Huawei's argument and credibility easier and stronger if you confirmed that there's a chance you will provide data when asked by the Chinese or indeed any other government?" Conservative MP Logan asked to which Jeremy Thompson, executive vice-president of Huawei said: "It's not our role to operate the network or to touch customer data."

All this could lead to a ban on Huawei in the UK. The British government might keep Huawei out of its mobile network. A ban will be a clear U-turn but PM Boris Johnson is not alone in doing it. He will be one of the six world leaders to bar Huawei in one form or another and considering the global anti-China wave, the announcement from PM Johnson remains a mere formality.

"I am very, very determined to get broadband into every part of this country, you know, reaching out for across the whole of the UK and we are convinced that we can do it and I am also determined that the UK should not be in any way be vulnerable to high-risk state vendors," the British prime minister said.

Meanwhile, the list of countries that have banned Huawei keeps getting longer. The United States by far has been the most aggressive not only does Huawei face a ban in the US market, the government has also barred American companies from doing business with Huawei. Australia had blacklisted the company two years ago. New Zealand is blocking Huawei too. Italy and Canada reportedly might follow suit soon.

London’s plans would unite the five eyes — the UK, US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand — or a broader group of “D-10” nations formed of the G-7 plus India, South Korea and Japan in a joint enterprise collaborating on investment, procurement and research to fast-track Huawei’s rivals.

An alliance could take shape to hunt alternatives to Huawei. It is called the D-10 alliance which includes the G-7 countries plus India, South Korea and Japan. The United States would like to see alliance take shape and reports say that the United Kingdom has now begun persuading allies too.

All eyes are on India now. The Indian government is yet to decide on Huawei's fate but after the ban on 59 Chinese apps, a ban on Huawei looks like the logical next step.