An defence minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the possible security risks posed by Chinese vehicles, and staff have been instructed to avoid discussing classified matters in any vehicles.
Security Advice for Defence Staff
During a recently aired appearance on a radio station, a defence minister addressed reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to talk about secret information while travelling in Chinese cars.
He explained that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however noted that security is a issue in all modern vehicles.
We have a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a secret classification in any kind of car, due to the growing risks of eavesdropping that are present in all automobile, to only have those confidential talks in protected areas. This is a wise and sensible thing for everyone concerned about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, the minister replied: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Defence Context
The announcement comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could enable China to disable public transport and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly shining lasers at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
This broader defence situation highlights the significance of robust measures and caution in every aspects of official operations, from transport usage to discussions habits.
