HANGUP

Pentagon Bans Sale of Chinese Phones on U.S. Military Bases

Removes Huawei and ZTE phones due to “security concerns.”

The Pentagon is moving to stop the sale of Chinese-made phones from Huawei Technologies Co. and ZTE Corp. in and near U.S. military base stores for “potential security threats” they say the devices could pose. The Wall Street Journal reports officials have said the Chinese government “could order Chinese manufacturers to hack into products they make to spy or disable communications,” although Huawei and ZTE have said they would never let that occur. A source told the Journal that the Pentagon is specifically concerned about Beijing tracking U.S. troop whereabouts with the phones. Huawei is the third largest mobile-phone maker in the world, behind Apple and Samsung. ZTE is the fourth largest seller of phones in the U.S. market. The retail stores affected would be in and around military bases, as well as ones overseas that “cater to American soldiers and sailors.”