An defense official has stated that the MoD is actively examining the possible security risks posed by Chinese-made vehicles, and staff have been instructed to avoid talking about secret information in all cars.
Safety Guidance for MoD Staff
In a recent interview on a radio station, a defence minister addressed claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to discuss secret material while riding in China-made cars.
He stated that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that security is a issue in every modern cars.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their car, to avoid having discussions at a secret classification in any kind of car, due to the growing risks of surveillance that exist in all automobile, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. This is a wise and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using all cars from China, the minister responded: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Security Background
This revelation follows claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could allow China to disable public transport and bring disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship has been directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
The broader defence situation underscores the significance of strong measures and vigilance in every aspects of government activities, from transport use to communication habits.
