After U.S. (Trump), Germany, now Indonesia: Complicated Corruption Communication (Minister Plate) in Indonesia

Surya Paloh (Chairman Nasdem/National Democratic Party and Owner MEDIA Group) said (currently) the lowest point is his relationship with President Republic of Indonesia “Jokowi” Joko Widodo, 5 days ago. Today, one of two Paloh’s trusted allies in Kominfo / Telco (Telecommunication Ministry) was detained by the Attorney General (AG). Indonesian AG (Attorney General) authorities have detained the Minister of Communication and Information Technology Johnny Gerard Plate, following investigations of alleged corruption that could lead to his resignation, and also 5 others. Just 10 months ago, brouhaha “chaos” on registering PSE (Penyelenggara Sistem Elektronik; PSE, or PSESO -- Private Scope Electronic Systems Operator), Plate’s decision.

Barcelona means: annual event GSMA

The Attorney General’s Office said it detained Plate on Wednesday, May 17th, 2023, after he was summoned for questioning on the same day. The AGO probed Plate’s role in alleged corrupt acts involving a 4G wireless base station project meant to fast-track high-speed telecommunication service throughout the country. The project or the procurement of Rp8 trillion worth of BTS equipment. 

This corruption, awkwardly predicted, will be long-convoked between Western Hemisphere countries which already say no to Chinese companies on Telco, especially Huawei & ZTE. And more awkward for Western because Indonesia has a lot/huge cooperation with China Government and or China companies, from High-Speed Train until Mining. The 49th G7 Summit will be held this week in Hiroshima and (also Hiroshima) to be host of QUAD meeting (military alliance India, Australia, America, Japan —- 4 countries very aware about the rise of China) in Canberra. Jokowi to be special guest in 49th G7 Summit this week, like (special guest too, in) 48th G7 Summit last year in Schloss Elmau, Krün, Bavarian Alps Germany. Biden has officially cut short his trip and will return to the U.S. on Sunday after the G7 in Japan. He will not go to Papua New Guinea or Australia, per administration official, because of ongoing debt ceiling talks.

This is huge, complicated, because “it is not just Plate”, but a Chinese company, a very sensitive company. And maybe to be “reciprocity” for other countries to “more carefully” cooperate with Chinese companies.

Communication Industry really “very huge money” across globally, not only in Indonesia or ASEAN. To example: Thaksin Shinawatra founded the mobile phone operator Advanced Info Service and the IT and telecommunications conglomerate Shin Corporation in 1987, ultimately making him one of the richest people in Thailand. He founded the Thai Rak Thai Party (TRT) in 1998 and, after a landslide electoral victory, became prime minister in 2001.

Back to Indonesia.

Surya Paloh himself has a huge cooperation with Chinese company SONANGOL (not Telco company), “flip flops relation, first very happy but ended with spat, dispute. Awkward, the worth of project between Surya Paloh with Sonangol reaches (same) Rp8 Trillion, a skyscraper “INDONESIA 1” beside Japan Embassy in Indonesia (was: Soviet Union Embassy in 60-80 decades, then EX Plaza in early 2000, then Surya Paloh buy entire land of EX Plaza to build *INDONESIA 1”).

In an earlier note, I said “ one of two Paloh’s trusted allies in Kominfo / Telco Ministry”, yes, it's true: another one is Usman Kansong, was Editor in Chief MEDIA Group, a news media owned by Surya Paloh. Until today, in Telco Ministry, Usman Kansong still listed as “Directorate General of Information and Public Communication”, still related with his job in MEDIA Group. Very common in Indonesia, and in other countries, if some political party get a seat of “Minister”, another related-friend / trustee of the Chief Political Party also has to be subordinate in the same Ministry.

 

Usman Kansong is not included in this corruption, not even in the list of 24 people (including Minister Plate) who were banned from traveling abroad (since January 18th, 2023). From 24 names, today (May 17th, 2023) alongside Minister Plate detained by AG (Attorney General) only 5 names. 

24 (23 + Minister Plate, list banned to travel abroad, Jan 18th, 2023)

Small sign “ZTE.” This high-tech stuff by ZTE in every train-station in Jabodetabek

List of detained today (May 17th, 2023) alongside Minister Plate

The saddest: at least from the Government side and Private (Chinese) Companies side who detained this morning, at least “career-profession” (pejabat karir) for nearly 3 decades. 

The worrisome: list of “Banned from Traveling Abroad” on January 18th, 2023, includes at least high ranking from 2 Chinese companies in the Telco industry: ZTE and Huawei.

Another situation like Mr Usman Kansong but from the Private (Chinese) Sector sides. The Director of Government Affairs Huawei Indonesia or PT Huawei Tech Investment just 14 hours ago still posted (on LinkedIn) about cooperation between Huawei Indonesia and the Indonesian Government (not Telco Ministry but with Ministry of Women Empowerment and Child Protection or MoWECP and Indonesia Cyber Agency or BSSN).

Specific to Huawei, a lot of western hemisphere countries were worried about Huawei, especially on (prejudice) surveillance by China. And Indonesia cases today, linking multiple Chinese companies, Huawei and ZTE, especially Huawei, may be an additional reciprocity for Western Hemisphere to say no to Huawei. At least March 2023, Germany chancellorship literally mentioned ZTE and Huawei (not only Huawei, not only ZTE, but both). Huawei also scrambles to get contracts in Scandinavia. Ties between China and Australia had soured after Canberra banned Huawei from its 5G network in 2018 (under former PM Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (15 Sep 2015-24 Aug 2018), and China responded with trade restrictions and tariffs on Australian exports such as coal, lobsters and wine.

Germany first.

March 8th, 2023, Germany is considering banning certain components from Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE in its telecom’s networks, a government source said, in a potentially significant move to address security concerns.

In celebration Europa Day (May 9th, 2023 --- at least 2 months after Germany say no to Huawei and ZTE), Scholz speech about EU - China relation: Rivalry & competitiveness on the side of China have certainly increased. The EU has seen this and is reacting. I agree with VDL (Ursula Gerturd von der Leyen, she’s in Kyiv when Europa Day celebrated) when she says 'no decoupling' but smart derisking is the way to go. I firmly believe that the world of the 21st century will be multipolar. It has been for a long time. The answer for the EU? Drills down on "geopolitical Europe" In order to do that, the EU needs to change. We need a geopolitical EU, an enlarged and reformed EU." Europe will only be heard, if we speak with one voice."

Around 7 hours after Scholz speech, EU mulls sanctioning eight Chinese companies which are seen as having circumvented EU sanctions against Russia’s war industry. Yet China‘s Foreign Minister Qin Gang warned that Beijing would react strongly, same patter retaliation like hammered Canada, if the EU were to do that. Yet FM Germany Annalena Charlotte Maya Baerbock rebuffed the warning, telling Qin it was China's obligation to make sure its companies don't deliver weapons or so-called dual-use goods, which can be used for Russia's war efforts, to Moscow.

An interior ministry spokesperson on March 8th confirmed that the German government was carrying out a general review of telecoms tech suppliers, but said that this was not directed at specific manufacturers.

The German government, which is in the midst of a broader re-evaluation of its relationship with top trade partner China, has been wary of expressly singling out Huawei, even while pursuing legislation enabling it to crack down on the firm.

An interior ministry paper on the review obtained by Reuters said that a specific supplier could be banned from providing critical components if it were deemed to be directly or indirectly controlled by the government of another state.

"We cannot be reliant on components of individual suppliers," Finance Minister Christian Lindner said.

The review could lead to Germany asking operators to remove and replace components already built into networks, the interior ministry spokesperson said, adding that current legislation did not foresee compensation for them.

"This is a sign that the German government may finally be taking China-related risks to national security seriously," said Noah Barkin, managing editor with research firm Rhodium Group's China practice who specialises in German-Chinese relations. "But after years of dithering, the German 5G network is deeply dependent on Chinese suppliers. It will take many years to unwind this."

Critics of Huawei and ZTE say that their close links to Beijing's security services mean that embedding them in the ubiquitous mobile networks of the future could give Chinese spies and even saboteurs access to essential infrastructure.

Huawei, ZTE and China's government reject these claims, saying that they are motivated by a protectionist desire to support non-Chinese rivals.

Referring to reports in German media about a possible ban, the Chinese embassy in Germany said in a statement Beijing would be "very puzzled and strongly dissatisfied" if any such decision were taken.

China's foreign ministry said in a statement that it hoped Germany would "make an independent decision in line with its own interests, economic patterns and international rules that does not receive interference from a third party".

The Norwegian government’s decision not to implement an outright ban on the use of 5G equipment supplied by Huawei has left the door open for the Chinese company to pursue non-core 5G network opportunities in Norway.

This shifts decision-making on contracts and partnerships concerning the purchase and deployment of Huawei technologies to the boardrooms of individual telecom companies.

But the government’s resolution, broadly welcomed by industry chiefs within the telecom and mobile communications domain, is proving unpopular in Washington.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump has actively lobbied Nordic governments not to do business with Huawei on the basis that technologies embedded in its equipment could pose a national cyber security threat because of the uncertain nature of Huawei’s relationship with China’s defence and intelligence agencies.   

“The specific focus of our security requirements falls on telecommunications companies and not on individual suppliers,” said Nikolai Astrup, Norway’s minister of local government and modernisation. “The government maintains an open and productive dialogue on security requirements. It is the direct responsibility of telecom sector companies to conduct their own risk assessments in selecting equipment suppliers.”

Despite Norway’s strategic and distinctive approach to Huawei, the company is finding it more difficult to build partnerships through 5G equipment delivery contracts across Nordic markets. This comes in the wake of a series of contract setbacks in 2019 that saw Ericsson win partnership deals with TDC and Telenor for their core national 5G network builds in Denmark and Norway.

Huawei’s strained relationship with the Danish government, a situation compounded by claims from government officials of attempted Chinese interference in the 5G decision-making process, has not helped the Chinese company’s cause in securing high-profile 5G network build agreements. Huawei has also failed to impress Danish authorities with its offer to provide pro forma guarantees on the integrity and security of its 5G technologies and equipment.

For Huawei, Norway and Denmark presented the two Nordic markets with the most potential in the 5G network equipment space. In Sweden and Finland, local operators were always more likely to favour local partnerships with hardware suppliers Ericsson and Nokia as lead 5G network equipment suppliers.

In practical terms, the Norwegian government’s stated policy of allowing telecom operators to choose their own 5G partners will allow Huawei – which has been supplying network technologies to Norway since 2007 – to pursue new but non-core 5G network equipment sales and partnership opportunities in that market.

Although Telenor has partnered with Ericsson to deliver its national 5G radio network in Norway, the Norwegian state telco will continue to use Huawei to maintain its 4G radio network as well as upgrade 5G coverage in some geographic locations across the country.

“Telenor has used Huawei as a supplier to our networks in Norway since 2009, and our experience with working with them has been positive,” said Anders Krokan, vice-president of communications at Telenor Norway. “Huawei has delivered on the strict security and quality requirements we have for our suppliers. This is a fundamental condition in our co-operation.”

Equipment suppliers, foreign and domestic, to Norway’s telecoms sector are regulated under two primary laws – the Law on Electronic Communications (LEC/Ekomloven) and the Law on National Security (Sikkerhetsloven). The LEC includes rigid provisions regulating the acquisition of equipment and the use of technologies offered by foreign suppliers from countries that do not hold a mutual security agreement with Norway.

Nokia is in fierce competition with Ericsson and Huawei for 5G market share in Scandinavia. There are also reports that Nokia have 5G public agreements with operators such as T-Mobile, Telia and SoftBank. In addition, Nokia is also working on 6G. In June, CEO Pekka Lundmark said at a panel discussion that 6G is expected to be commercially available around 2030.

It appears that Scandinavia countries seem to prefer Nokia in their 5G network. The company already has 5G contracts with multiple operators in Finland, Sweden and Denmark. Now, it is adding Norway to the list. Regarding its expansion into Finland, Nokia’s CEO, Pekka Lundmark, said: “We are delighted to extend our long-standing partnership with Telia Company. For over half a century we have worked with Telia to deliver best-in-class connectivity – now that continues into the 5G era, as we supply Telia’s RAN technology in Finland and its core 5G network across the Nordic and Baltic nations. I look forward to continuing our close collaboration with Telia for years to come.”

Backtrack again saga between Trump - China, but includes Canadian PM Trudeau.

Canada’s intelligence agency warned that arresting the daughter of billionaire Huawei founder Ren Zheng would set off global “shock waves” and seriously affect ties with China, just before her detention in Vancouver on a U.S. extradition request, new court documents show.

The documents show the involvement of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) in the December 2018 arrest of Meng Wanzhou, which soured diplomatic ties between Ottawa and Beijing.

Meng is chief financial officer of China tech giant Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, the company at the center of next generation 5G wireless technology and a long-running dispute the administration of (former) U.S. President Donald Trump.

A CSIS report was disclosed in the court documents as part of Meng’s extradition proceedings. In a redacted Dec. 1, 2018 memo, CSIS said it was advised by the U.S. FBI of plans to arrest Meng when she arrived on a flight to Vancouver International Airport later that same day.

“The arrest is likely to send shockwaves around the world,” CSIS said. “The planned event will be of great consequence internationally and bilaterally,” the report said.

Huawei lawyers called the documents proof that authorities had conspired against Meng.

Meng is accused by U.S. authorities of bank fraud for misleading HSBC HSBA.L about Huawei's relationship with a company operating in Iran, putting HSBC at risk of fines and penalties for breaking U.S. sanctions on Tehran.

Meng’s lawyers have argued the case should be thrown out because Canada did not have sanctions against Iran. Meng says she is innocent. Last month, a Canadian judge allowed the case to continue, rejecting defense arguments that the U.S. charges against Meng do not constitute crimes in Canada.

The new court documents show the CSIS was concerned about when Meng’s arrest might become public. Her lawyers noted the point was of particular interest, since Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping were attending the G20 summit in Bali (Nov. 15-17, 2023), was caught by media have a “heated conversation.”

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-prada- (Adi Mulia Pradana) is a Helper. Former adviser (President Indonesia) Jokowi for mapping 2-times election. I used to get paid to catch all these blunders—now I do it for free. Trying to work out what's going on, what happens next. Arch enemies of the tobacco industry, (still) survive after getting doxed.

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