A defence official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the potential threats associated with Chinese vehicles, and staff have been instructed to avoid talking about secret matters in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
During a recently aired appearance on LBC, a defence minister addressed reports that MoD staff have been instructed not to talk about classified material while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
He said that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however noted that security is a issue in all modern cars.
We have a fleet of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their car, not to have discussions at a classified level in any kind of car, due to the growing threats of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those confidential talks in secure locations. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone worried about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using every Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Security Context
The announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable China to disable buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
This wider security environment underscores the significance of robust measures and caution in every areas of government operations, including transport use to discussions practices.
