An defence minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the potential security risks posed by Chinese-made vehicles, and staff have been instructed to refrain from discussing secret matters in any cars.
Security Advice for Defence Staff
In a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister addressed claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to talk about secret material while travelling in Chinese cars.
The minister explained that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however noted that safety is a concern in every contemporary cars.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a secret classification in any vehicle, due to the increasing risks of surveillance that exist in all automobile, to only have those confidential talks in protected areas. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone worried about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every cars from China, the minister replied: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Security Background
This announcement follows reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable China to disable buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel has been directing lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
The wider security environment underscores the significance of strong measures and vigilance in every areas of official operations, from transport usage to communication habits.
