Kadena Airbase Bans Chinese Made Vehicles; They are Still Allowed on Other Installations in Japan and Korea
I suspect other installations will start banning these vehicles as well. Many of the Chinese automobiles are equipped with cameras that could send imagery back to intelligence operatives. The risk of intelligence collection is just not worth having them on base in my opinion:
The Air Force has barred vehicles manufactured by Chinese automaker Build Your Dreams from entering Kadena Air Base on Okinawa due to “unacceptable and unmitigable” risks to operations, according to the 18th Wing. Wing commander Brig. Gen. John Gallemore made the decision “after a thorough, consultative process which determined that these vehicles present an unacceptable and unmitigable risk to our personnel and our mission,” spokeswoman Lt. Col. Alli Stormer said by email Monday.
The restriction applies to privately owned vehicles, taxis, delivery trucks and contractor vehicles, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported Friday, citing unnamed U.S. military officials in Japan. Kadena is the only U.S. base in Japan to ban BYD vehicles, Air Force Col. John Severns, spokesman for U.S. Forces Japan, said by email Friday. “If that changes, we’ll announce it to our base populations,” he wrote. The vehicles are not barred from U.S. military bases on the Korean Peninsula.
You can read more at the link, but the biggest question is why would any Japanese or Korean want to buy a Chinese made car in the first place?
