A leading U.S. nuclear weapons laboratory recently discovered its computer systems contained some Chinese-made network switches and replaced at least two components because of national security concerns, a document shows.

A letter from the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, dated November 5, 2012, states that the research facility had installed devices made by H3C Technologies Co, based in Hangzhou, China, according to a copy seen by Reuters. H3C began as a joint venture between China's Huawei Technologies Co and 3Com Corp, a U.S. tech firm, and was once called Huawei-3Com. Hewlett Packard Co acquired the firm in 2010.

The discovery raises questions about procurement practices by U.S. departments responsible for national security. The U.S. government and Congress have raised concerns about Huawei and its alleged ties to the Chinese military and government. The company, the world's second-largest telecommunications equipment maker, denies its products pose any security risk or that the Chinese military influences its business.

Switches are used to manage data traffic on computer networks. The exact number of Chinese-made switches installed at Los Alamos, how or when they were acquired, and whether they were placed in sensitive systems or pose any security risks, remains unclear. The laboratory - where the first atomic bomb was designed - is responsible for maintaining America's arsenal of nuclear weapons.

A spokesman for the Los Alamos lab referred enquiries to the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration, or NNSA, which declined to comment.

The November 5 letter seen by Reuters was written by the acting chief information officer at the Los Alamos lab and addressed to the NNSA's assistant manager for safeguards and security. It states that in October a network engineer at the lab - who the letter does not identify - alerted officials that H3C devices "were beginning to be installed in" its networks.

The letter says a working group of specialists, some from the lab's counter intelligence unit, began investigating, "focusing on sensitive networks." The lab "determined that a small number of the devices installed in one network were H3C devices. Two devices used in isolated cases were promptly replaced," the letter states.

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The letter suggests other H3C devices may still be installed. It states that the lab was investigating "replacing any remaining H3C network switch devices as quickly as possible," including "older switches" in "both sensitive and unclassified networks as part of the normal life-cycle maintenance effort." The letter adds that the lab was conducting a formal assessment to determine "any potential risk associated with any H3C devices that may remain in service until replacements can be obtained."

"We would like to emphasize that (Los Alamos) has taken this issue seriously, and implemented expeditious and proactive steps to address it," the letter states.

Corporate filings show Huawei sold its stake in H3C to 3Com in 2007. Nevertheless, H3C's website still describes Huawei as one of its "global strategic partners" and states it is working with it "to deliver advanced, cost-efficient and environmental-friendly products."

The Los Alamos letter appears to have been written in response to a request last year by the House Armed Services Committee for the Department of Energy (DoE) to report on any "supply chain risks."

In its request, the committee said it was concerned by a Government Accountability Office report last year that found a number of national security-related departments had not taken appropriate measures to guard against risks posed by their computer-equipment suppliers. The report said federal agencies are not required to track whether any of their telecoms networks contain foreign-developed products.

The Armed Services committee specifically asked the DoE to evaluate whether it, or any of its major contractors, were using technology produced by Huawei or ZTE Corp, another Chinese telecoms equipment maker. ZTE Corp denies its products pose any security risk.

In 2008, Huawei and private equity firm Bain Capital were forced to give up their bid for 3Com after a U.S. panel rejected the deal because of national security concerns. Three years later, Huawei abandoned its acquisition of some assets from U.S. server technology firm 3Leaf, bowing to pressure from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. The committee evaluates whether foreign control of a U.S. business poses national security risks.

In October, the House Intelligence Committee issued an investigative report that recommended U.S. government systems should not include Huawei or ZTE components. The report said that based on classified and unclassified information, Huawei and ZTE "cannot be trusted to be free of foreign state influence" and pose "a security threat to the United States and to our systems."

William Plummer, Huawei's vice president of external affairs in Washington, said in an email to Reuters: "There has never been a shred of substantive proof that Huawei gear is any less secure than that of our competitors, all of which rely on common global standards, supply chains, coding and manufacturing.

"Blackballing legitimate multinationals based on country of origin is reckless, both in terms of fostering a dangerously false sense of cyber-security and in threatening the free and fair global trading system that the U.S. has championed for the last 60-plus years."

He referred questions about H3C products to Hewlett Packard. An HP spokesman said Huawei no longer designs any H3C hardware and that the company "became independent operationally ... from Huawei" several years prior to HP's acquisition of it. He added that HP's networking division "has considerable resources dedicated to compliance with all legal and regulatory requirements involving system security, global trade and customer privacy."

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Pvt. Danny Chen, 19, died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in Afghanistan, the Army says.

Legal proceedings will begin Sunday in the death of a Chinese-American soldier believed to have committed suicide in Afghanistan after allegedly being hazed by his fellow soldiers, the Army says, though the Asian-American community would like them held in the U.S. out of concerns for transparency.

The Article 32 hearings, which would determine whether there was enough evidence for a court-martial against the men, will run through about Feb. 20 at Kandahar Air Field in Afghanistan, Sgt. 1^st Class Alan G. Davis, an Army spokesman, said in an email.

Eight soldiers have been charged in connection with the death of Army Pvt. Danny Chen, 19, who died of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound on Oct. 3. Five of them were charged with involuntary manslaughter and negligent homicide, thought to be the first time such charges have been brought in this type of case, said experts on hazing and on the military legal system.

Asian-American advocates and the family told Army officials during a meeting last week that they do not want the proceedings to take place overseas, citing the need for transparency and access.

“It’s imperative that, at the 32 hearings, that the top charges of negligent homicide and involuntary manslaughter are not dropped," Elizabeth OuYang, New York branch president of OCA, a national civil rights organization serving Asian Pacific Americans, said Friday. "What they did to Danny, drove Danny to his death, and a strong signal must be sent throughout the military that anyone will face these charges if they engage in this type of conduct.”

She added that the Article 32 hearings should be held in the U.S. since "it's based on what charges stick after the 32 hearings that form the grounds for the court-martial. If those top charges are dropped at the 32 hearings, the community will always feel that that process was compromised … especially because we did not have access to them.”

A judge, jury and defense and prosecution teams will be present in the courtroom during the public hearings, Davis said.

"Cases are routinely tried in theater [the operational area], and are routinely moved back to the United States for court-martial. This decision depends on several factors, including location of witnesses and other logistical considerations," he said.

Greg Rinckey, a former attorney with the U.S. Army's Judge Advocate General Corps, said the government didn't need to prove its whole case at the Article 32 hearing, just show there was enough evidence for the case to go forward.

“I think the question here is, there’s a leap," he said. "They want the jury or the panel to make a leap that this type of action by members of his unit basically ... made this soldier to commit suicide and that’s a hard leap.”

Rinckey thought the defense would likely try to get the tougher charges dropped.

"I think they [the prosecution] could prove it. I think it's difficult though,” he added.

The maximum punishment for involuntary manslaughter is 10 years and a dishonorable discharge, while negligent homicide is a dishonorable discharge and three years. Willful dereliction of duty carries a maximum punishment of a bad conduct discharge and 6 months confinement, Davis said.

Chen was found dead at a guard tower with his rifle lying next to him at Combat Outpost Palace in the Panjwa'i district of Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan.

According to investigators from the Regional Command-South, OuYang said, almost immediately after he arrived in mid-August, Chen, the only Chinese-American in his platoon, was required to do exercises that within a few days crossed over to alleged abuse. Some of it was inflicted by one soldier and some by a group of them, the investigators said.

OuYang said investigators found that Chen, among other things, had rocks thrown at him to simulate incoming artillery rounds, was subjected to racial slurs and was dragged out of his bed on Sept. 27 and over 50 meters of gravel for allegedly breaking a hot water pump. On the day of his death, he was made to crawl with all of his equipment about 100 meters over gravel while some of the suspects threw rocks at him after he forgot his helmet and a sufficient amount of water for duty.

Investigators found evidence that the platoon sergeant and the platoon leader -- the platoon's top two leaders -- were aware of the Sept. 27 attack and chose not to report it, OuYang said.

Attempts to reach attorneys for the defendants were not successful.

What happened to Chen, was "obviously disturbing and very insensitive and I think this is going to bolster the Army’s case, but of course … there’s always two sides to every story," Rinckey said. "I think there is going to be a defense here that this was a fragile soldier that cracked under the pressure of combat."

The eight soldiers have been assigned to a different forward operating base in Afghanistan, removed from active duty and placed under increased supervision of senior non-commissioned officers, Davis said.

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