US-Poland deal harks back to Cold War era

It is common and generally beyond reproach when one country partners with another in pursuing mutual benefit, so long as no harm is done to a third party.

Had the latest agreement between the United States and Poland to cooperate on developing 5G technology been of such nature, it, too, would have been fine. In normal circumstances, people may not find anything wrong even with such rhetoric as "all countries must ensure only trusted and reliable suppliers participate in networks". Indeed, from a national security perspective, no country would consign its all-important communications network to a supplier it does not trust.

But this is not a general, universally applicable statement highlighting commitment to telecommunications safety. Although the joint declaration issued by US Vice-President Mike Pence and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in Warsaw named no names, Marc Short, Pence's chief of staff, made no secret about its target.