Minister States MoD Examining Potential Threat from Chinese Cars, as Staff Instructed to Refrain from Confidential Discussions in Vehicles.
An defense minister has confirmed that the MoD is currently looking into the potential security risks posed by Chinese vehicles, and staff have been advised to refrain from discussing classified information in all cars.
Safety Advice for MoD Personnel
During a recently aired appearance on a radio station, a defence minister addressed claims that MoD officials have been instructed not to talk about secret information while travelling in Chinese cars.
He stated that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however stressed that security is a issue in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
However whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a classified classification in any vehicle, because of the increasing risks of surveillance that exist in all automobile, to restrict those secret talks in secure locations. This is a wise and reasonable thing for anyone worried about security.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using every cars from China, the minister replied: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Defence Context
This announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could allow China to disable buses and bring disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel has been directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
This wider security environment highlights the significance of strong measures and vigilance in every areas of official operations, including vehicle usage to discussions practices.