Digital Iron Curtain shows US' Cold War mindset

US President Donald Trump will deliver his State of the Union address on Tuesday, which according to a media briefing by a senior official will harp on the now familiar refrain of what his administration is doing to build "a safe, strong, and proud America".

One of the things the Trump administration seems to be considering doing, according to a memo and Power-Point presentation produced by a senior National Security Council official and obtained by US news website Axios, is taking responsibility for building a super-fast 5G wireless network, to counter what it presupposes is a threat posed by China to US "cyber security and economic security".

The ideologically charged proposal harks back to the rhetoric - and strategies - of the Cold War. It even contains the suggestion that the work on a secure 5G network could be exported to emerging markets to "protect democratic allies against China" and to "help inoculate developing countries against Chinese neo-colonial behavior".