An defense official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the potential threats posed by Chinese-made cars, and personnel have been instructed to avoid discussing secret matters in any cars.
Safety Advice for MoD Personnel
In a recent interview on LBC, a defence minister addressed claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to discuss secret information while travelling in China-made cars.
He explained that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however stressed that security is a issue in all contemporary cars.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
But whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug MoD devices into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any car, because of the growing risks of surveillance that exist in all vehicle, to restrict those secret conversations in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone worried about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, the minister responded: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Defence Context
The announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and bring disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel has been shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
This wider defence environment highlights the importance of robust protocols and vigilance in all aspects of government operations, including transport usage to communication habits.
