A defence minister has revealed that the MoD is currently investigating the potential security risks posed by Chinese cars, while staff have been told to avoid talking about secret matters in any cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
In a recent appearance on LBC, a defence minister addressed reports that MoD officials have been told not to talk about secret material while travelling in China-made vehicles.
The minister said that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, however noted that security is a concern in every contemporary cars.
We have a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a very small number.
However whether you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their car, not to have discussions at a secret classification in any car, because of the increasing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in secure locations. This is a wise and sensible thing for everyone concerned about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using every cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Defence Context
This announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could enable China to switch off buses and cause chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship has been shining lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
The broader security situation highlights the significance of strong measures and caution in all aspects of official operations, including vehicle usage to discussions practices.
