A defense minister has confirmed that the MoD is actively looking into the potential threats posed by Chinese vehicles, and personnel have been told to avoid talking about secret information in all cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
During a recent appearance on a radio station, a defence minister commented on claims that MoD officials have been told not to talk about classified information while riding in Chinese vehicles.
He explained that the ministry is “examining” cars from China within its fleets, but noted that safety is a issue in every modern cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is not to plug MoD technology into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret classification in any kind of vehicle, due to the growing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those confidential conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent 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 announcement comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow China to switch off buses and cause chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at RAF pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
The wider defence environment underscores the importance of strong protocols and caution in all areas of government operations, from transport use to discussions habits.
