A defence minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the possible threats posed by Chinese vehicles, while personnel have been told to refrain from talking about secret information in any cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
During a recent appearance on a radio station, a defence minister addressed reports that MoD officials have been instructed not to talk about classified information while travelling in China-made cars.
The minister explained that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but noted that security is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a collection of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
But whether you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their car, to avoid having discussions at a classified level in any vehicle, because of the increasing threats of surveillance that exist in all automobile, to only have those secret conversations in protected areas. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone worried about security.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using all Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Defence Context
This announcement follows claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off public transport and bring chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
The broader security environment highlights the significance of robust measures and vigilance in all areas of official operations, from transport use to communication practices.
