An defence minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the potential security risks associated with Chinese vehicles, and staff have been told to avoid discussing classified matters in all cars.
Safety Advice for MoD Staff
During a recently aired appearance on LBC, a defence minister addressed claims that MoD officials have been instructed not to talk about secret material while travelling in China-made cars.
He said that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but stressed that safety is a issue in all contemporary cars.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a secret level in any kind of car, because of the growing threats of eavesdropping that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those confidential talks in secure locations. This is a prudent and sensible thing for everyone worried about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using all cars from China, the minister replied: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Security Context
This announcement comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could enable China to switch off public transport and cause chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
The wider security environment highlights the importance of robust measures and caution in all aspects of official activities, including transport usage to communication habits.
