A defence minister has revealed that the MoD is currently looking into the potential threats associated with Chinese-made cars, while personnel have been instructed to avoid discussing secret information in all vehicles.
Security Guidance for Defence Staff
During a recently aired interview on a radio station, a defence minister commented on reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to talk about secret information while travelling in Chinese cars.
The minister said that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but emphasised that safety is a concern in all modern vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a classified level in any car, because of the growing threats of surveillance that are present in all automobile, to only have those confidential talks in secure locations. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, the minister replied: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Security Background
This announcement follows claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could allow China to disable buses and bring chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
This wider security environment underscores the significance of strong measures and caution in all aspects of official activities, including vehicle usage to communication habits.
