U.S. Air Force’s combat wing at Kadena Air Base in Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture said Monday it has banned vehicles made by China’s automaker BYD from the facility due to security concerns.
The move is believed to be aimed at preventing information inside the base from being leaked through vehicle-mounted cameras and sensors, Yonhap News Agency recently reported, adding that similar measures could be taken at U.S. military bases in South Korea and elsewhere.
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“These vehicles present an unacceptable and unmitigable risk to our personnel and our mission,” Lt. Col. Alli Stormer, the 18th Wing’s chief of public affairs, said in a statement, without detailing the specific risks involved.
Kadena Air Base is a strategic hub for addressing threats from China, Russia and North Korea. In June, the U.S. Defense Department added BYD to a list of companies said to have ties with the Chinese military, drawing protest from China’s Commerce Ministry. /dl
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