An defense minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the possible threats posed by Chinese cars, and staff have been advised to avoid discussing classified information in all cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
During a recent interview on a radio station, a defence minister commented on reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to discuss classified information while riding in China-made cars.
He said that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however noted that security is a concern in every contemporary vehicles.
We have a collection of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
But whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is not to plug MoD technology into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a secret classification in any vehicle, due to the growing risks of eavesdropping that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in secure locations. That’s a wise and sensible thing for anyone concerned about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using every cars from China, the minister replied: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Security Context
The announcement follows claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and bring disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel has been directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
This wider defence environment underscores the significance of robust measures and caution in every aspects of official operations, from transport usage to communication practices.
