The Thai government has reportedly launched a new 5G testbed in the nation developed by Huawei, despite pressure from the US government to block Chinese equipment from 5G rollouts.
Under the project, Huawei plans to establish a 5G lab in Chonburi, the heart of the $45 billion Eastern Economic Corridor project, Reutersreported.
Other vendors including Nokia and Ericsson and the nation's mobile operators have also established 5G labs at the site, the report states.
The 5G testbed project will be Huawei's first in Southeast Asia, and modeled after its 5G collaborations in other markets. Huawei has secured more than 30 commercial 5G contracts globally.
According to the report, the Thai government has insisted that allowing Huawei to establish a 5G testbed in Thailand does not mean the company has been approved to provide equipment for the nation's eventual commercial 5G rollouts.
The US government has been pressuring Thailand to follow its lead in prohibiting Chinese vendors from providing equipment for 5G rollouts due to national security concerns.
But international relations between Thailand and the US have been more tense since the 2014 military coup, while relations between Thailand and China have been improving, and Huawei Thailand has stressed that there has been no evidence presented to back up the US government's allegations.