An defense official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the potential security risks posed by Chinese cars, and staff have been told to refrain from discussing secret information in all vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
In a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister commented on claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to discuss secret material while riding in Chinese cars.
The minister stated that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that safety is a issue in all contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a secret classification in any kind of vehicle, because of the increasing risks of eavesdropping that are present in all vehicle, to only have those confidential talks in secure locations. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every cars from China, the minister replied: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Security Background
The announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
The broader defence situation underscores the significance of strong measures and caution in every aspects of government operations, from vehicle usage to discussions practices.
