On the gates of Kadena, the great American air base on Okinawa, guards now turn back a familiar kind of car: the BYD, whether it belongs to a private owner, a taxi driver or a delivery van. The reason offered is risk to people and to the mission, though no particular threat has been named, and the choice sits within a longer human unease about what a machine can carry out of a place without its owner knowing. It is one more step in a wider story in which two powers that build so much of the modern world increasingly guard the doors between them.
US Military Bans BYD Vehicles at Okinawa's Kadena Airbase, Citing 'Unacceptable' Security Risk
An unacceptable and unmitigable risk, with no specific threat named
Mark
Why does a car ban at one base get this much attention?
Mimi
Kadena is the largest US air force base in east Asia, and it would be central in any crisis involving China, Russia or North Korea. It hosts the Typhon missile system, fighters, and surveillance and refuelling aircraft.
Mark
And the ban is broad, not just for personnel?
Mimi
Yes. Reports say it covers private cars, taxis and delivery vehicles, and gate guards turn BYDs away.
Luke
Worth stressing that the broad scope comes from reports. The military's own statement is about risk, not about who is covered.
Mark
What exactly is the risk?
Mimi
The statement calls it unacceptable and unmitigable. Yonhap links it to leaks through cameras, sensors and GPS.
Luke
That link is Yonhap's reading. Officials have not identified a specific threat, so we don't know of any actual leak.
Mark
Is this part of a pattern?
Mimi
It is. The Pentagon put BYD on a list of 188 firms in June, and it banned Huawei and ZTE phones on bases in 2018.
Luke
And China did something similar with Tesla in 2021, then lifted it in 2024. These restrictions can change.
Mark
What should we watch?
Mimi
Whether other bases follow, and whether BYD responds. It hadn't at the time of reporting.
Luke
Right, the other bases are speculation for now.
Der Puls
- At Kadena's gates, guards have been ordered to wave away any BYD vehicle, from family sedans to delivery vans, with no specific threat yet named.
- The US air force calls the risk unacceptable and impossible to mitigate, leaving drivers and local businesses to absorb the sudden refusal.
- Officials point to fears of data leaking through cameras, sensors and GPS, a concern that echoes earlier bans on Huawei phones and Chinese firms on the Pentagon's list.
- BYD, now the world's largest battery-electric seller and newly pushing into Japan with its Racco minicar, has not yet answered, and the ban's reach beyond Kadena remains an open question.
On the gates of Kadena, the great American air base on Okinawa, guards now turn back a familiar kind of car: the BYD, whether it belongs to a private owner, a taxi driver or a delivery van. The reason offered is risk to people and to the mission, though no particular threat has been named, and the choice sits within a longer human unease about what a machine can carry out of a place without its owner knowing. It is one more step in a wider story in which two powers that build so much of the modern world increasingly guard the doors between them.
At the gates of Kadena airbase on Okinawa, security personnel have been instructed to stop any BYD vehicle and send the driver back the way they came. The ban took effect this week, and the US military in Japan confirmed it on Tuesday. It covers every BYD on the road, whether privately owned, a taxi or a delivery vehicle.
The reason, as Lieutenant Colonel Alli Stormer of the 18th Wing put it, is that these vehicles pose an unacceptable and unmitigable risk to personnel and the mission. No specific incident or threat has been named. Kadena is the largest US air force base in east Asia, home to fighter jets, refuelling and surveillance aircraft, and the Typhon missile system, and it would be central to any crisis involving China, Russia or North Korea. Yonhap read the move as a worry about information leaking through cameras, sensors and GPS built into the cars.
The ban belongs to a longer pattern. Washington placed BYD on a Pentagon list of Chinese firms with military ties in June, and in 2018 it barred Huawei and ZTE phones from its bases. The restrictions have not been one-sided either: Beijing once kept Tesla out of some government compounds over its cameras, and lifted that ban in 2024.
BYD has not publicly answered the Kadena ban. The company has just overtaken Tesla as the world's largest battery-electric seller and is pushing into Japan, where its small Racco minicar launched in July. For now only Kadena is named, and the US military has not said whether other bases will follow.
At the gates of Kadena airbase on the Japanese island of Okinawa, security personnel have been told to stop any BYD vehicle and tell the driver to turn around. The ban took effect this week, and the US military in Japan confirmed it on Tuesday. Reports say it covers every BYD, whether a privately owned car, a taxi or a delivery vehicle.
Lieut Col Alli Stormer, a spokesperson for the US air force 18th Wing at Kadena, gave the reason in a statement. In her words, the vehicles present an unacceptable and unmitigable risk to personnel and to the mission. The statement did not point to any specific incident or threat. American military officials have not identified one.
Kadena is the largest US air force base in east Asia, and it would be directly involved in responding to a crisis involving China, Russia or North Korea. According to the base's website, it hosts fighter planes and aircraft used for mid-air refuelling, surveillance and reconnaissance. Its inventory also includes the Typhon missile system, which is said to be able to fire Tomahawk missiles as far as 1,600km, putting parts of China and Russia within range.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency said the move reflects concern about possible information leaks through vehicle-mounted technology such as cameras, sensors and GPS devices. The ban fits a wider pattern. The US and other western countries have been restricting Chinese smart technology in vehicles, phones and other devices that they fear could be used to spy on their owners.
Washington has already marked BYD as a concern. In June the Pentagon added the company to a list of 188 Chinese firms it believes have ties to China's military, and Beijing protested. The list also names the carmaker Nio, the e-commerce firm Alibaba and the internet company Baidu. Earlier, in 2018, the US defence department banned the sale and use of smartphones from Huawei and ZTE at military bases worldwide, again citing security.
The restrictions have not run in only one direction. China barred Tesla vehicles from some government compounds in 2021, citing security concerns over the cameras installed in them. Beijing lifted that restriction in 2024 after Tesla won an endorsement from the country's top auto industry association.
BYD had not responded publicly to the Kadena ban at the time of reporting. The company overtook Tesla in 2025 as the world's biggest seller of battery-electric vehicles, and it is now expanding abroad. That includes Japan, the world's fourth-biggest auto market, where in July it launched its Racco electric minicar. It hopes the small, cost-efficient vehicle can carve out a place in a market dominated by domestic brands.
The ban has fuelled speculation that similar measures could follow at other US military facilities. For now, Kadena is the only base named, and the US military has not said whether others will be affected.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
These vehicles present an unacceptable and unmitigable risk to our personnel and our mission.— Lieut Col Alli Stormer, spokesperson, US air force 18th Wing at Kadena
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