India to phase out Huawei equipment from its networks

India is reportedly removing Huawei equipment from its mobile networks as tensions escalate between India and China in the disputed Himalayan Galwan Valley territory. The Indian government is concerned about Chinese investments in its network infrastructure, the Financial Times reported Monday, citing government officials and industry leaders.

Rather than ban Huawei outright, however, the government is more likely to quietly withdraw equipment from the Chinese tech giant.

“When it comes to large public contracts and critical infrastructure, we would prefer non-Chinese companies,” a senior government official reportedly told the Financial Times. “This message has been passed on to Indian businesses.”

Reliance Jio is developing its own 5G equipment, Bharti Airtel is working with Ericsson, and the Financial Times says state-owned BSNL is excluding Chinese suppliers. Vodafone India has worked with Huawei on 5G trials.

Read more: Huawei’s blackout schedule: The company says its old phones will still receive Android updates

The report comes a week after a report says Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE should be excluded from Indian 5G deployment plans.

Huawei, Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, BSNL, Vodafone India and the Indian government press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.