An defence official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the possible security risks posed by Chinese cars, while personnel have been instructed to avoid talking about secret information in any vehicles.
Safety Advice for MoD Staff
During a recently aired appearance on a radio station, a defence minister commented on claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to discuss classified material while travelling in China-made vehicles.
The minister explained that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but emphasised that safety is a issue in all contemporary vehicles.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
But whether you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a secret level in any car, because of the increasing risks of eavesdropping that are present in every single automobile, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. This is a wise and sensible thing for anyone concerned about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using all cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Security Context
This revelation follows claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off public transport and cause chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship has been directing lasers at RAF pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
The wider security situation highlights the significance of strong measures and vigilance in every aspects of government operations, including transport use to discussions practices.
