US bans automobiles from China’s BYD at Japan navy base, calling them ‘unacceptable’ threat | Japan
One of America’s largest abroad navy bases has banned automobiles made by the Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD over safety considerations, the US navy in Japan mentioned on Tuesday.
The ban, which went into impact this week at Kadena airbase on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa, has fueled hypothesis that comparable measures could possibly be taken at different US military amenities as a part of Washington’s crackdown on Chinese expertise it suspects of getting used to gather delicate data.
“These automobiles current an unacceptable and unmitigable threat to our personnel and our mission,” Lieut Col Alli Stormer, a spokesperson for the US air pressure 18th Wing at Kadena, mentioned in an announcement.
The restrictions apply to all BYD automobiles, together with privately owned vehicles, taxis and supply automobiles, reviews mentioned, including that safety personnel stationed on the base’s gates had been instructed to dam BYD automobiles and instruct drivers to show round.
Kadena, the most important US air pressure base east Asia, could be instantly concerned in responding to a disaster involving China, Russia or North Korea.
Its stock contains the highly effective Typhon missile system, which is claimed to be able to firing Tomahawk missiles so far as 1,600km, placing elements of China and Russia inside putting distance. Kadena additionally hosts fighter planes and plane used for mid-air refuelling, surveillance and reconnaissance, in line with its web site.
The transfer comes amid considerations of potential data leaks by way of vehicle-mounted applied sciences equivalent to cameras, sensors and GPS units, South Korea’s Yonhap information company mentioned.
American navy officers haven’t recognized a selected menace, however the ban is a part of wider measures taken by the US and different western international locations to limit Chinese good expertise in automobiles, cell phones and different units they concern could possibly be used to “spy” on their homeowners.
In June the Pentagon added BYD to an inventory of 188 Chinese corporations it believes have ties to the nation’s navy, drawing a protest from Beijing. The blacklist additionally contains the automaker Nio, e-commerce agency Alibaba and web firm Baidu.
The US defence division banned the sale and use of smartphones from Chinese corporations Huawei and ZTE at navy bases worldwide in 2018, once more citing safety considerations.
China has imposed comparable restrictions on US-made Tesla automobiles. In 2021, it barred them from some authorities compounds as a consequence of safety considerations over cameras put in on the automobiles. Beijing eliminated that restriction in 2024 after Tesla gained an endorsement from the nation’s high auto business affiliation.
BYD, which has not instantly responded publicly to the Kadena ban, overtook Tesla because the world’s biggest seller of battery-electric vehicles in 2025.
It is now increasing abroad, together with within the planet’s fourth-biggest auto market, Japan, the place in July it launched its Racco electrical minicar within the hope that the small, cost-efficient car would carve out a spot in a market dominated by home manufacturers.
With Reuters
