An defense official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the potential threats posed by Chinese-made cars, and staff have been instructed to refrain from discussing classified information in any cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
During a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister commented on reports that MoD staff have been instructed not to talk about secret material while travelling in China-made vehicles.
He said that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a concern in every modern cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
However whether you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a secret classification in any vehicle, because of the increasing threats of surveillance that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those confidential talks in protected areas. This is a wise and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using every Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Security Context
This announcement comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off public transport and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel has been directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
This wider defence environment highlights the importance of strong protocols and caution in all areas of government activities, including transport use to communication practices.
