An defense minister has revealed that the MoD is actively looking into the possible security risks posed by Chinese cars, and personnel have been instructed to refrain from talking about classified matters in all vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
In a recently aired appearance on LBC, a defence minister commented on reports that MoD officials have been told not to discuss classified information while riding in China-made cars.
The minister explained that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that safety is a issue in every contemporary cars.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a classified level in any kind of car, because of the increasing risks of surveillance that exist in all automobile, to restrict those secret conversations in secure locations. That’s a wise and reasonable 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 moment.”
Wider Defence Background
This revelation follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable China to switch off buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel has been directing lasers at RAF aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
This broader defence situation underscores the significance of robust measures and caution in all areas of government activities, from vehicle usage to communication habits.
