A defense minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the possible threats posed by Chinese cars, while staff have been told to avoid talking about classified matters in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for MoD Personnel
In a recent interview on a radio station, a defence minister addressed reports that MoD officials have been instructed not to discuss classified material while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
He stated that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that security is a issue in all modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a classified classification in any kind of vehicle, due to the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone worried about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using all cars from China, the minister responded: That is precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Security Context
The announcement follows claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable China to disable buses and cause chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at RAF aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
This wider security environment highlights the significance of robust protocols and vigilance in all aspects of official operations, from transport use to discussions practices.
