A defense minister has stated that the MoD is actively examining the potential security risks posed by Chinese cars, while personnel have been told to refrain from talking about secret information in all cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
During a recent interview on LBC, a defence minister commented on claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to talk about secret material while travelling in China-made cars.
He said that the ministry is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that security is a concern in all contemporary cars.
We have a collection of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is not to plug MoD technology into their car, to avoid having discussions at a secret classification in any vehicle, due to the increasing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to restrict those secret conversations in secure locations. This is a wise and sensible thing for everyone concerned about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using every Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Security Background
This revelation follows reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could enable China to switch off public transport and cause chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
This wider security situation highlights the significance of robust protocols and caution in all aspects of official operations, including transport usage to discussions practices.
