An defence official has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the possible threats associated with Chinese cars, and personnel have been instructed to refrain from talking about secret information in all cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, a defence minister addressed claims that MoD staff have been instructed not to talk about secret material while travelling in China-made vehicles.
He said that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, however stressed that safety is a concern in every contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their car, to avoid having discussions at a secret classification in any car, due to the growing risks of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to only have those secret conversations in protected areas. This is a prudent and sensible thing for everyone concerned about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using all cars from China, the minister replied: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Defence Context
This announcement comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow China to switch off buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly directing lasers at RAF pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
This wider defence situation underscores the importance of strong protocols and vigilance in all aspects of government activities, including vehicle usage to communication practices.
