An defense minister has revealed that the MoD is currently examining the potential security risks associated with Chinese-made vehicles, and personnel have been advised to refrain from talking about secret matters in all vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
In a recently aired appearance on a radio station, a defence minister commented on claims that MoD officials have been instructed not to talk about secret material while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
He said that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that security is a issue in every contemporary cars.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
But whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a classified level in any car, due to the increasing risks of eavesdropping that are present in every single automobile, to restrict those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a wise and sensible thing for anyone concerned about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using every cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Defence Background
This announcement comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese buses, which could allow China to disable public transport and cause chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel has been directing laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
This broader defence situation highlights the importance of robust measures and caution in every areas of official operations, including transport use to discussions practices.
