A defense official has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the potential threats posed by Chinese-made cars, and personnel have been advised to avoid discussing classified matters in all cars.
Safety Advice for MoD Staff
In a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister commented on claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to talk about secret information while riding in Chinese vehicles.
He explained that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however stressed that security is a issue in every modern vehicles.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
But whether you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a classified level in any car, due to the growing threats of eavesdropping that are present in every single vehicle, to only have those confidential talks in secure locations. This is a wise and sensible thing for anyone worried about security.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using all Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Defence Background
This revelation follows reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could allow China to disable buses and cause chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship has been shining laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
The broader defence situation underscores the importance of robust measures and caution in every areas of government operations, from transport usage to discussions practices.
