A defense official has stated that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the potential threats posed by Chinese vehicles, while staff have been instructed to avoid discussing classified information in all vehicles.
Safety Advice for MoD Personnel
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, a defence minister commented on reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to talk about secret material while travelling in China-made vehicles.
He stated that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its fleets, however stressed that security is a issue in all contemporary cars.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their car, to avoid having discussions at a secret classification in any car, because of the growing risks of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in secure locations. This is a wise and sensible thing for everyone concerned about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using all cars from China, the minister responded: That is exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Security Context
This announcement follows reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese buses, which could enable China to switch off buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly directing lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
This broader security environment highlights the significance of robust measures and caution in every aspects of official operations, including transport usage to communication practices.
