After national security concerns spurred an American power company to disconnect Chinese-manufactured batteries from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, last year, the Department of the Navy said it has taken a “proactive approach” to procure American or allied-supplied batteries for its installations, according to a letter from the service obtained by Military.com.
The department, which includes the Marine Corps, also said that it will ensure no “utility-scale” Chinese batteries will be used in government operations for the services, according to the letter. The missive was dated March 28, roughly four months after lawmakers raised concerns about the batteries on the Marine Corps installation.
The letter, which was addressed to Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and provided to Military.com by his office, was in response to concerns penned by nearly 30 other lawmakers after Chinese-produced lithium batteries from the Contemporary Amperex Technology Company, or CATL, were installed at Camp Lejeune late last year.
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“To prevent any supply chain risks from occurring in the future, the DoD will require, to the maximum extent possible, that our partners source all components from American or allied-nation sources,” the letter said.
Lawmakers, defense officials and national security experts have scrutinized Chinese infrastructure in the U.S., generally…
