<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>The People's Party (PP) Parliamentary Group has asked the government about the reasons for signing contracts with "Chinese state-owned companies" accused of "perpetrifying cyberattacks against governments and critical infrastructure for espionage purposes" and warned that the agreements with Huawei could "call into question the mutual technological trust" between Spain and the US and, with it, "the continued US deployment" at the Rota Naval Base.</strong></h4> Huawei, one of the world's leading telecommunications companies, is classified by several Western countries as a "high-risk" supplier of critical infrastructure due to its possible ties to the Chinese government. This has led some European Union member states to restrict or exclude Huawei and its competitor ZTE from the deployment of 5G networks, considering that the presence of these companies could compromise national and European security. In this context, the People's Party filed a series of parliamentary questions to the government in early September (published last Monday in the Official Gazette of the Cortes Generales, BOCG) related to this matter. In two of them, both dated September 1, the PP reports on various media reports according to which "the Armed Forces Intelligence Service will purchase the Chinese cameras that the US vetoed due to their risk to national security" and "despite the veto by NATO countries." It also recalls that "the CNI, along with intelligence agencies from twelve allied countries, has directly accused Chinese companies of perpetrating cyberattacks against governments and critical infrastructure for espionage purposes." “Despite these serious warnings and the recognition of the threat posed by certain companies linked to the Chinese government, the Spanish government has maintained and even promoted contracts and relationships with Chinese state-owned companies,” the PP continues, asking why, “after learning of this information, the Spanish government has continued contracting with companies owned by the Chinese government.” In three other questions, dated September 4, the PP points out that “the Rota Naval Base is one of the main strategic assets shared by Spain and the United States on European soil, key to deterrence, logistics, and surveillance operations on NATO's southern flank,” and that this same base “hosts highly sensitive Spanish and US communications systems, including command, control, and early warning capabilities.” “In this context,” it continues, “the technological integrity of the environment is essential to maintaining interoperability and shared security,” and therefore, “the possible implementation of Chinese infrastructure, civilian or military, in the Rota area could expose the facilities to extreme technological risks.” In this context, the People's Party Parliamentary Group warns that "the unilateral decisions of the Spanish government, with the formalization of agreements with Huawei, which has been criticized by our main allies for cyber espionage risks, could jeopardize mutual technological trust and, with it, the continued deployment of the North American platform." Therefore, and "in light of the warnings from the US Congress and the discontent expressed by various intelligence agencies, the PP asks the Government if it has assessed the potential impact that the agreement with Huawei may have on the US military presence at the Rota Naval Base, both in terms of personnel and deployed resources and capabilities," and if the Ministry of Defense has been warned, directly or indirectly, of the possibility of reconsidering the current level of US military presence at the Rota Naval Base, as a result of the use of Huawei technology in Spanish strategic networks." "In this scenario, what impact does the Ministry estimate a possible reduction in the US deployment in Rota would have on national defense capabilities, Spain's positioning within NATO, and the direct and indirect employment of the municipality linked to the Naval Base?" it concludes. Last Wednesday, the European Commission warned about the security risks arising from the contract between Pedro Sánchez's government and Huawei for the supply of servers for judicial wiretapping of the SITEL system, warning that it could increase the risk of foreign interference in the Spain's technological infrastructure. According to Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice President for Technological Sovereignty, Security, and Democracy, the contract awarded by the Spanish Ministry of the Interior to Huawei could create dependence on a supplier considered "high risk," particularly due to its ties to the Chinese intelligence apparatus. She also warned that such agreements could violate both the NIS 2 Directive and the European 5G network security strategy, which are fundamental elements for protecting digital infrastructure within the European Union.
