A defence minister has stated that the MoD is actively looking into the possible security risks associated with Chinese cars, and personnel have been advised to avoid discussing classified matters in all cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
During a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister commented on claims that MoD staff have been instructed not to discuss classified information while travelling in China-made vehicles.
He explained that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however noted that safety is a concern in every modern cars.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their car, not to have discussions at a secret classification in any kind of car, due to the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in secure locations. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about security.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every cars from China, the minister responded: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Security Background
The revelation follows reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable public transport and bring chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
The wider defence environment underscores the significance of strong measures and caution in all aspects of government operations, including vehicle usage to communication habits.
