A defence official has stated that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the potential security risks associated with Chinese-made cars, while staff have been instructed to refrain from talking about secret matters in any cars.
Security Guidance for MoD Personnel
During a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister commented on claims that MoD officials have been instructed not to talk about classified material while riding in Chinese vehicles.
He said that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a concern in all modern cars.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a classified level in any car, due to the increasing threats of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those secret conversations in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using every Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Defence Context
This revelation follows claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could enable China to disable public transport and cause disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship has been shining laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
This broader security situation highlights the significance of robust measures and caution in all aspects of government activities, including transport usage to communication practices.
