A defense minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the possible security risks posed by Chinese vehicles, and personnel have been advised to refrain from discussing classified information in any vehicles.
Security Advice for MoD Staff
During a recent appearance on LBC, a defence minister addressed reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to discuss classified material while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
The minister said that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but noted that safety is a issue in every modern vehicles.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their car, not to have conversations at a secret level in any vehicle, because of the increasing threats of surveillance that are present in every single automobile, to only have those secret talks in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using all cars from China, the minister replied: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Security Background
This revelation comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable public transport and cause chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
The wider defence situation underscores the importance of robust measures and caution in every aspects of official activities, including transport use to communication practices.
