Incoming foreign affairs minister Marise Payne has defended blocking Chinese-owned telecommunications giant Huawei from rolling out Australia's 5G network.
The decision also affects ZTE Corp, a Chinese telecommunications equipment company that makes mobile devices sold in Australia through Telstra, Optus and others.
Late last week, the federal government decided the involvement of either company in the rollout presented too much of a national security risk.
"They have different priorities - or different obligations - perhaps might be the best way to put it," Senator Payne told Sky News on Monday.
"Our obligations are about protecting Australia's national security."
In announcing the ban, the government expressed concerns about involvement from companies "likely to be subject to extrajudicial directions from a foreign government that conflict with Australian law."
Senator Payne said there were concerns the companies would be directed by China and bound by its intelligence laws.
"That is part of the legal system in which they work so yes, that is a concern," she said.
Huawei has been banned in Australia. Source: AAP
Huawei has publicly argued it would never hand over Australian customer data to Chinese spy agencies, but the government said no combination of technical security controls sufficiently mitigated the risk.
Huawei has described the decision as an extremely disappointing result for customers, saying it has safely and securely delivered wireless technology in Australia for almost 15 years.
