One of America’s biggest overseas military bases has banned vehicles made by the Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD over security concerns, the US military in Japan said on Tuesday.

The ban, which went into effect this week at Kadena airbase on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa , has fueled speculation that similar measures could be taken at other US military facilities as part of Washington’s crackdown on Chinese technology it suspects of being used to collect sensitive information.

“These vehicles present an unacceptable and unmitigable risk to our personnel and our mission,” Lieut Col Alli Stormer, a spokesperson for the US air force 18th Wing at Kadena, said in a statement.

The restrictions apply to all BYD vehicles, including privately owned cars, taxis and delivery vehicles, reports said, adding that security personnel stationed at the base’s gates had been instructed to block BYD vehicles and instruct drivers to turn around.

Kadena, the biggest US air force base east Asia, would be directly…