The involvement of Chinese vendors in the rollout of Vietnam's 5G network may deter foreign companies from investing in the Southeast Asian nation, a top EU official said on Tuesday.
European telecom firms Ericsson and Nokia are developing Vietnam's core 5G network, but in recent months Vietnamese state-owned operators have awarded 5G contracts to Chinese rivals Huawei and ZTE.
That marks a notable shift following years of caution towards China, and the change has sparked concerns among Western officials.
"Be careful with dependencies in strategic areas," EU Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Sikela said when asked about the Chinese contracts.
"5G is the new battlefield," he told Reuters on the sidelines of an EU-Vietnam investment forum in Hanoi. "Through the network you can access a lot and you can control a lot, and you have to be always careful who is your trusted vendor."
"If investors have doubts about the security of their data, they might decide not to take the risk and not to invest," he said.
Vietnam's foreign ministry and the Chinese embassy in Hanoi did not immediately reply to emailed requests for comment.
Vietnam is a major industrial hub and hosts large manufacturing operations of big Western multinationals, including European firms Adidas and Lego. Its decades-long economic boom hinges on foreign investment.
The European Union and European states on Tuesday announced a new package of investment in Vietnam's transport and energy sector.
Sikela said risks to future investments from unsecure networks were at this stage theoretical, and noted that several European countries allowed Chinese telecom vendors in the past.
Huawei and ZTE are banned from the telecom networks of several European countries and in the United States, because they are seen as risks to national security.
The companies have criticized the restrictions as unfair, rejecting the concerns as baseless.
Vietnamese officials have said that Chinese telecom equipment is reliable and cheaper, while downplaying security risks. Additional contracts with Chinese firms are under discussion, Reuters reported earlier this month.
