A defence official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the possible security risks associated with Chinese vehicles, and personnel have been advised to avoid talking about classified matters in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister commented on claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to talk about classified information while riding in Chinese cars.
He stated that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however noted that safety is a concern in all contemporary cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
However whether 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 car, to avoid having discussions at a secret level in any kind of car, due to the growing threats of eavesdropping that exist in every single vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in secure locations. This is a wise and reasonable thing for everyone worried about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Defence Background
The announcement follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could allow China to disable buses and cause disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
The wider defence environment underscores the significance of robust protocols and caution in every areas of government operations, including transport use to discussions practices.
