A defense minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the possible threats posed by Chinese vehicles, while personnel have been told to avoid talking about secret matters in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for MoD Personnel
In a recent appearance on LBC, a defence minister addressed claims that MoD staff have been told not to discuss secret information while travelling in Chinese cars.
He explained that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that safety is a issue in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
But whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any vehicle, due to the increasing threats of surveillance that exist in all vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in secure locations. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using every Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Defence Background
This announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable China to disable public transport and bring disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel has been directing lasers at RAF pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
The wider defence situation underscores the significance of robust protocols and caution in all aspects of official activities, from transport usage to communication habits.
