An defense official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the possible security risks posed by Chinese cars, and staff have been advised to avoid discussing secret information in any cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
During a recent appearance on LBC, a defence minister addressed claims that MoD officials have been instructed not to discuss secret information while travelling in China-made vehicles.
He stated that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however noted 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 very small number.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a secret classification in any kind of vehicle, because of the growing risks of eavesdropping that exist in every single automobile, to restrict those confidential talks in secure locations. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using all cars from China, the minister replied: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Security Context
This revelation follows claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off public transport and cause chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly directing lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
The wider defence environment highlights the importance of robust protocols and caution in every areas of official activities, including transport use to discussions practices.
