An defence minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the possible security risks associated with Chinese-made vehicles, and staff have been told to avoid discussing secret matters in all cars.
Safety Guidance for MoD Staff
In a recently aired appearance on LBC, a defence minister commented on reports that MoD staff have been instructed not to discuss secret material while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
The minister explained that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but stressed that security is a concern in every modern cars.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is not to plug MoD technology into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any kind of vehicle, because of the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those secret conversations in secure locations. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using all Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Defence Context
The announcement follows claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could enable China to switch off buses and cause chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship has been directing lasers at RAF aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
The wider defence environment highlights the significance of robust protocols and vigilance in every areas of official activities, including transport usage to discussions habits.
